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LOCALLY OWNED SINCE 1897 $1.50

SPORTS FINAL

ECEMBER 24, 2006

HOLIDAY TAMALES A LABOR OF LOVE, G1

ALL-AREA FOOTBALL, C1, C6-7

LOCAL SERGEANT GUARDS SADDAM, A6

SANCTIONS

With the Colors | Three-page photo special

U.N. to restrict trade, freeze Iranian assets

The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Saturday to restrict Irans trade in sensitive nuclear materials and to freeze the assets of 22 Iranian ofcials and institutions linked to the countrys most controversial nuclear programs. The councils action culminated more than three years of diplomatic efforts by the United States to have Iran sanctioned for expanding its enrichment of uranium. But Russia, a close commercial partner of Iran, stripped the resolution of some of its toughest measures, including a travel ban on ofcials linked to the nuclear programs. Page A9

THE TAX MAN COMETH

Year-end moves could ease bills

Making a smart tax move or avoiding a bad one may sound boring. But certain money-saving steps could turn into a beautiful holiday gift to your household. Among the items that might warrant some attention this month: charitable donations, home improvements and retirement accounts. To help you get started with your federal income tax, Your Money offers some tips and new rules that experts say taxpayers need to be aware of. Page I1

PHOTO COURTESY OF BRENT HUNT

Sgt. 1st Class Brent Hunt pays homage to fallen soldiers represented by their boots, weapon, helmet and dog tags at Camp Taji, Iraq, where he serves with the 4th Infantry Iron Horse Division. Hunt, a 1984 Tehachapi High graduate, is one of dozens of soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines serving in Iraq or overseas this holiday season. His home base is Fort Hood, Texas.

A tribute honoring Kern Countys servicemen and women on active duty around the world

On bakerseld.com

T
BY EMILY HAGEDORN

he holidays are a time for family traditions, family gatherings. But for many Kern County families, this holiday season nds an empty place at the table for loved ones serving our country. We asked readers to share photos and infor-

mation about their family members in the military. We join you in wishing Kerns troops a happy holiday and a safe and speedy homecoming. Beginning on Page A4, three pages of photographs honor Kern service members deployed around the world.
View a slideshow featuring our troops who are serving overseas.

ARTS & POP CULTURE

Buck Owens just one in a galaxy of fallen stars

Bakerselds own Buck Owens left a void in the lives of many when he died March 25. But a galaxy of notable names also passed on. Page G7

Criminal checks for doctors uncommon

Californian staff writer e-mail: ehagedorn@bakerseld.com

hen Dr. Lawrence R. Jellinek was credentialed by Bakerseld Memorial Hospital, the hospital didnt know he was recently charged with driving under the inuence and cocaine possession. But then again, no one checked. When the emergency physician was hired by Bakerseld Emergency Med-

ical Corp., a physicians group, it also didnt know about the charges. But then again, no one checked. While Jellineks case might be an isolated incident, the lack of criminal background checks on physicians isnt. Excluding Kern Medical Center, no local hospital and only some physicians groups do criminal background checks on doctors before hiring and credentialing, the process of granting work privileges. Doctors have to go through a series of

other checks including schooling, training and licensing verications but criminal background checks are not mandated by law nor any regulatory group. Many hospitals and physicians groups say they trust the Medical Board of California, the state agency that licenses and disciplines medical doctors, to alert them of any criminal malfeasance. But the board can take months to turn a criminal charge or conviction into action.

In the meantime, a physician, like Jellinek, can be hired, credentialed and seeing patients. You cant rely on a questionnaire, said Dr. James Thompson, president and CEO of the Federation of State Medical Boards, a national nonprot organization composed of the countrys boards. Its a tremendous public trust that physicians are empowered with and as such they hold a tremendous responsibility. Please turn to DOCTORS / A3

W E AT H E R

INDEX
Books . . . . . . . . . .G6 Classieds . . . . . .D1 Crossword . . .D5, G3 Jobs . . . . . . . . . . . .E1 Eye Street . . . . . . .G1 Funerals . . . . . . . .B2 Horoscopes . . . . .G3 Local news . . . . . .B1 Movies . . . . . . . . .G2 Opinion . . . . . . . . .B8 Real Estate . . . . . . .F1 Sports . . . . . . . . . .C1 Television . . . . . . .TV Travel . . . . . . . . . . .H1 Weather . . . . . . .B10 Your Money . . . . . .I1

C O M I N G M O N D AY
After the presents have been opened and the mess cleaned up, sit down with a steaming mug of cocoa and your Californian for some Christmas memories from our readers. Also starting in the Christmas paper and running over several days is a sampling of the pictures of the year from The Californians award-winning photographers.

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DOCTORS: Process hit or miss, watchdog says

Continued from A1

OTHER DOCTORS, OTHER CRIMES

Dr. Lawrence R. Jellinek, arrested Aug. 25 on DUI and drug possession charges in Hanford, isnt the only local physician whos been in the news lately for alleged criminal behavior. Dr. Zachary Cosgrove was charged Dec. 7 with sexual exploitation after, police say, he engaged in consensual sex with three patients. Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, the nations predominant health care accrediting body, doesnt require them either. Dr. Esmail Nadjmabadi was charged with sexual battery in late June after several female patients came forward and said he inappropriately touched them. Unlike Jellinek, however, Cosgrove and Nadjmabadi were charged after they were already hired and credentialed. about misdemeanors, starting the rst of the year. Court clerks and prosecuting agencies are also mandated to alert the board. In a number of cases, those reports would eventually nd their way in, said Julianne DAngelo Fellmeth, administrative director of the University of San Diegos Center for Public Interest Law, a watchdog group for state licensing boards. The delay in the receipt of these reports is a common thing. Fellmeth was hired by the state Legislature to audit the boards enforcement program and completed her initial report in 2004. In her nal report, she found that many court clerks were unaware of the reporting requirement. And while the medical board has done outreach, the number of reports that come in from courts is still low, Kirchmeyer said. All of these reporting mechanisms are failing, Fellmeth said. Its pretty hit or miss. In scal year 2005-2006, court ofcials or physicians notied the board of criminal actions 16 times, down from 20 the year before, according to the boards annual report. But this number is in line with the number of felony convictions they usually act on, Kirchmeyer said. In 2005-2006, the board took

Getting hired
Jellinek was arrested in Hanford Aug. 25 on charges of driving under the inuence and transporting and possessing cocaine. Even with those charges hanging over him, he was hired by and worked for Bakerseld Emergency Medical Corp., which contracts with Memorial, from Oct. 1 to Nov.1 said Dr. Vernon Sorenson, the physicians groups medical director, in a release. Jellinek no longer works at the hospital or with the physicians group. He is expected back in Kings County court Feb. 8. The procedures Jellinek went through to get stafng privileges are similar to those in other hospitals and physicians groups. Both Memorial and Bakerseld Emergency Medical Corp. veried his schooling (University of California, San Francisco), training (UCLA Medical Center), his license with the Medical Board of California (renewed and current), his license to prescribe medicine with the Drug Enforcement Agency (active) and any malpractice claims against him (nothing to warrant attention), both groups said. The hospital looked him up on the National Practitioner Data Bank, a national database managed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which came back clear, said Ken Keller, Memorials vice president for physician and business development. But no criminal background check. It is not required for any employee of an acute care facility in California, said Lea Brooks, spokeswoman with the state Department of Health Services. The Joint Commission on

The medical board

Many groups rely on the medical board and the National Practitioner Data Bank to check criminal histories, said Cathrin Knollenberg, GEMCare medical groups quality assurance manager. The board checks criminal histories and takes ngerprints when licensing, said Kimberly Kirchmeyer, the Medical Board of Californias deputy director. Physicians renew licenses every two years, but no subsequent criminal checks are done. And even before the information makes it to the state medical board, someone must either take the initiative to tell the board or the information must nd its way up the chain from the local law enforcement agencies and courts. Were pretty much at the mercy of who is reporting it, Kirchmeyer said.

action against 17 physicians for criminal convictions. After being notied by local law enforcement, the Department of Justice also noties the board, usually within 30 days, of any charges brought against physicians, Kirchmeyer said. Sometimes in the smaller counties it could take longer than that, she said. The Medical Board of California took a little more than nine months, on average, to complete an investigation in 2005-2006. These included all types of physician wrongdoing, including the more complex competence and negligence cases, she said. Criminal investigations are usually quicker. Jellineks suspension was handed down about three months after he was charged.

On bakerseld.com
Check out The Pulse, reporter Emily Hagedorns blog on health and medicine. You can nd it at people.bakerseld.com/blogs /ehagedorn. and a hospital cant just willy-nilly destroy their reputation. Some people argue that a criminal check is an intrusion on privacy and delays the already lengthy credentialing process, said Thompson, of the Federation of State Medical Boards. But I dont think any of those merit or outweigh the benet society has of knowing that someone has been a criminal in the past, he said.

Medical experts weigh in

The days of starting and ending your medical career in the same place are waning, said Dorel Harms, senior vice president of clinical services for the California Hospital Association. Physicians are moving around more than they used to, which has prompted more hospitals and physicians groups to do criminal background checks. For hospitals, criminal background checks arent a clear-cut way of weeding out potentially harmful doctors, Harms said. There are lots of issues to factor in, such as how a hospitals management should deal with someone who made a mistake and has been rehabilitated. Why wouldnt you want that doctor with excellent clinical skills available in your community? said Jan Emerson, the California Hospital Associations vice president of external affairs. Our society gives lots of people second chances. She added, Their reputation in the community is very important,

Discovering wrongdoing
Criminal checks are catching on more and more. The medical board encourages everybody to do a thorough investigation, Kirchmeyer said. Bakerseld Family Medical Center, which does criminal background checks, has had to make decisions about physicians with criminal pasts, said President and CEO Robert OKeefe. In one case, a physician, who made a mistake several years ago, explained the conviction and was taken on by BFMC, he said. It worked out quite well. Another physician, a Harvard Medical School graduate who was applying to BFMC, hadnt told them about his embezzlement and drug charges. Whammo, out of nowhere the charges were discovered, he said. To learn an employee lied and committed a crime is a horrible situation for anyone, OKeefe said. The responsibility (of looking for wrongdoing) has to be assumed by someone, he said. But I dont know who.

Whos reporting?
Under law, physicians must notify the board of felony charges, indictments or convictions within 30 days, and under a new law, they will also have to tell the board