King/Drew ER Official Suspended

The director of the emergency medicine residency program at Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center has been suspended amid an inquiry into his conduct -- the second ER program leader to be removed in six months, officials said Tuesday.

Dr. Patrick Aguilera was placed on administrative leave Friday by the troubled public hospital’s affiliated medical school, the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science. University and hospital officials are looking into whether he made advances or otherwise behaved inappropriately toward female residents, according to two sources familiar with the investigation who insisted on anonymity for fear of retribution.

The action against Aguilera comes as the hospital south of Watts faces a crucial federal inspection before the end of August that could determine whether it survives in its present form. If King/Drew fails any part of the federal review, it stands to lose $200 million, nearly half of its budget.

The hospital has already been shaken by a patient death this month, in which a woman fell after leaving a cardiac monitoring unit to smoke a cigarette.

Separately, a confidential survey of ER medical residents has turned up serious concerns about working conditions in the emergency room, which bodes poorly for a key inspection next month by the national group that accredits physician training programs.

Residents said they complained that the teaching was poor, the hours were excessive and senior physicians in charge of supervising their work were frequently absent.

The university’s director of graduate medical education briefed residents on the results in a group meeting last week and indicated that the findings could doom their program, the residents said.

Aguilera was named residency director in December after Dr. Eugene Hardin was removed as department chairman and residency program director because of an allegedly autocratic management style. He remains on administrative leave.

Aguilera did not return repeated calls seeking comment.

A graduate of the King/Drew residency program, Aguilera previously served as director of medical school admissions and associate dean of medical student affairs at Drew.

In a statement, the university said it “promotes an environment of education that is based on zero tolerance for any and all forms of harassment. While unable to comment on the particulars of this case, the university is engaged in a full investigation.”

The county Department of Health Services confirmed that Aguilera works for King/Drew under contract and said he would not return to work until the investigation was resolved. Officials declined to comment further.

Drew University has long struggled with its residency programs and has lost accreditation to train aspiring radiologists, surgeons and neonatologists in recent years.

But hospital leaders have often boasted about how well emergency department residents have performed, saying they have excelled on national exams to gauge their skills.

The university has taken a number of steps to turn itself around since a task force led by former U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher found serious problems in leadership and oversight in December 2003.

The private, historically black university has since replaced the vast majority of its board members, as well as its president and medical school dean, and sought assistance from the University of California to improve oversight of its residency programs.

On Tuesday, the county Board of Supervisors approved a one-year, $12-million contract extension with Drew for clinical and academic services at King/Drew, as well as $2.3 million in retroactive payments for related expenses.