Homeless Man Poses as Doctor
May 12, 2001
Hospital security for Jacksonville, Florida's St. Vincent's Medical Center has gotten much tighter after a homeless man was able to pose as a doctor and write a prescription for an emergency patient.
Gary Stearley, 27, was able to obtain a hospital badge after telling hospital security that he lost his, and then spent the next several days pretending to be a doctor. Later, posing as "Dr. Joshua Caldwell," he visited the patient at home and is accused of writing another prescription for the patient and one of the patient's family members. According to police reports, Stearley entered the emergency room wearing scrubs and proceeded to treat patients.
It is not known how long Stearley stayed in Florida, but he was seen in another local hospital before moving to Pennsylvania. Later that year he was arrested in Pennsylvania for impersonating a physician's assistant trainee.
If convicted, Stearley could serve a five year prison sentence for practicing medicine without a license and representing himself to be a physician's assistant. Stearley has pleaded innocent to the charges and has been held on $100,000 bond. He claimed to have always had a fascination with medicine and said that he needed a place to stay.
Claims exist that Stearley has done this before. Authorities in Washington state, Virginia, and Florida have records that he has posed as a member of the medical staff in all three areas.
-- Article Courtesy of InjuryBoard.com
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