Puliafito EOD 7/25

Traditional Media Coverage

1. USC to Fire Former Medical School Dean

   Jul 24, 2017 | TheScientist

   By Diana Kwon
   
   
   During his tenure as dean of the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California (USC), Carmen Puliafito was a respected eye surgeon and professor as well as a highly successful fundraiser. He regularly attended national conventions and training seminars, and coauthored more than 60 journal articles. But he also had other pastimes.
2. Scandal involving medical school dean shines light on doctors and addictions

   Jul 25, 2017 | FierceHealthcare

   By Joanne Finnegan
   
   
   Allegations that the prominent dean of the University of Southern California’s medical school used illegal drugs has not only rocked the campus but has also put a spotlight on the problem of drug use and addiction among physicians.
3. Former USC Med School Dean Loses Board Seat at $3 Billion California Stem Cell Agency

   Jul 25, 2017 | California Stem Cell Report

   By David Jensen
   
   
   Former USC medical school dean Carmen Puliafito, who reportedly led a secret life involving drugs and prostitution, is no longer a member of the governing board of the $3 billion California stem cell agency.
4. USC dean scandal raises issues for Pasadena police (Letter to the Editor)

   Jul 25, 2017 | San Gabriel Valley Tribune

   By Kris Ockershauser
   
   
   USC announced that it’s hiring an independent legal investigator to get to the bottom of the Carmen Poliafito affair, in which the former dean of the university’s medical school, a doctor in stratospheric standing, picked up from the hospital his girlfriend who’d overdosed on methamphetamine at Pasadena’s Hotel Constance, rented another room and continued partying. Wonder how many millions that publicity is worth?

Traditional Media Coverage

1. USC to Fire Former Medical School Dean

   Jul 24, 2017 | TheScientist

   By Diana Kwon

   During his tenure as dean of the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California (USC), Carmen Puliafito was a respected eye surgeon and professor as well as a highly successful fundraiser. He regularly attended national conventions and training seminars, and coauthored more than 60 journal articles. But he also had other pastimes.

   Last Monday (July 17), an investigation by the Los Angeles Times revealed that the doctor led a double life, keeping the company of criminals at drug-fueled parties where he took methamphetamine and other illicit substances. The report described details of photos and videos of Puliafito taking drugs and partying with much younger acquaintances in hotels rooms, cars, and the dean’s office at USC.

   In March 2016, Puliafito was present in a hotel room where a 21-year-old woman overdosed on the date-rape drug, gamma-hydroxybutyrate. According to the Times, an anonymous witness phoned USC president Max Nikias’s office a week after this event and told two employees about the incident.

   Puliafito resigned his position as dean a week and a half later, but stayed on as USC faculty. Mark Borchert, a professor at the medical school and practicing eye doctor, tells USA TODAY College that that he and many others at Keck were “surprised” when Puliafito resigned. “His behavior showed that he had many activities he wanted to accomplish over the next few years, so it was out of the blue,” Borchert adds.

   Last Friday (July 21), USC Provost Michael Quick announced in a letter to the faculty that the university had initiated the process of firing Puliafito and banned him from campus. “Today, we were provided access to information of egregious behavior on the part of the former dean concerning substance abuse with people who aren’t affiliated with USC,” Quick wrote. “This was the first time we saw such information first hand.”

   The school also hired Debra Wong Yang, a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and former U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, to conduct an investigation into the former dean’s behavior and USC’s response. According to the Times, Yang represented USC in 2012 when it faced a wrongful death lawsuit after two graduate students were murdered off campus.  

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2. Scandal involving medical school dean shines light on doctors and addictions

   Jul 25, 2017 | FierceHealthcare

   By Joanne Finnegan

   Allegations that the prominent dean of the University of Southern California’s medical school used illegal drugs has not only rocked the campus

   but has also put a spotlight on the problem of drug use and addiction among physicians.

   Carmen A. Puliafito, M.D., a renowned eye surgeon, had used drugs extensively while serving as dean of the USC Keck School of Medicine, according to a

   Los Angeles Times report.

   The newspaper’s investigation left the medical school in turmoil as it has now suspended the former dean from its faculty and started the process to fire him

   (PDF). Puliafito had stepped down as the medical school dean back in March 2016 after a companion overdosed on drugs in a hotel room, the Times said.

   However, the story of Puliafito’s secret life of methamphetamine and ecstasy use has opened a window into the pervasiveness of drug use and addiction among doctors and the particular challenges they face in getting help, according to a follow-up Times article.

   RELATED: Law enforcement using prescription drug databases to track physicians with improper prescription habits Physicians are often reluctant to seek treatment for substance abuse problems because of the fear they will lose their medical licenses. And, since they know the signs of drug use they can often hide them.

   “There’s an invulnerability: ‘Well, I’ll just do this the right way, and it’ll never be a problem. I’ll just do this the right way and I’ll never overdose,’ ” Marvin Seppala, M.D., addiction expert and chief medical officer at the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, told the newspaper. “Somehow they believe their knowledge is going to be more powerful than addiction.”

   A study released last month found that state medical licensing boards, which ask more questions about doctors’ mental health than physical health that could lead to impairment, may promote stigma and keep physicians from seeking help. States are significantly more likely to ask whether physicians had been diagnosed, treated or hospitalized for mental health or substance abuse than for physical health disorders, the study found.

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3. Former USC Med School Dean Loses Board Seat at $3 Billion California Stem Cell Agency

   Jul 25, 2017 | California Stem Cell Report

   By David Jensen

   Former USC medical school dean Carmen Puliafito, who reportedly led a secret life involving drugs and prostitution, is no longer a member of the governing board of the $3 billion California stem cell agency.
   
   In response to a query last week from the California Stem Cell Report, Evan Westrup, press secretary to Gov. Jerry Brown, said, "This individual is no longer on the board."

   However, as of this writing, the web site for the agency listed Puliafito as a member of the governing board, carrying a short biography and a photo.
   
   In response to a question this morning, Kevin McCormack, senior director for communication for the agency, said,
   "If the governor says he is not in the board then he is not on the board. We will change the web page."

   The governor's office did not respond to requests last week for more details concerning Puliafito's departure. But his term expired last December. Agency board members may continue to serve until a replacement is named.
   
   The position that Puliafito held on the board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine(CIRM), as the agency is formally known, is required to be filled by an executive from a California university. Since the inception of the agency in 2004, the seat has been filled by the dean of the USC School of Medicine.

   It is not clear whether the governor will replace Puliafito with another representative from USC. Brown may look askance at the school in the wake of reports about how USC handled the Puliafito affair over a period of more than a year. 
   
   A headline on a column last week by Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez said,
   "USC bosses flunk the leadership test amid shocking allegations about former medical school dean"

   USC ranks 6th among California institution in the amount of awards it has received from CIRM, collecting a total of $110 million.
   

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4. USC dean scandal raises issues for Pasadena police (Letter to the Editor)

   Jul 25, 2017 | San Gabriel Valley Tribune

   By Kris Ockershauser

   USC announced that it’s hiring an independent legal investigator to get to the bottom of the Carmen Poliafito affair, in which the former dean of the university’s medical school, a doctor in stratospheric standing, picked up from the hospital his girlfriend who’d overdosed on methamphetamine at Pasadena’s Hotel Constance, rented another room and continued partying. Wonder how many millions that publicity is worth?

   And who’s looking into our police department’s strange performance? No interview of the young woman, no arrest of either party, no report written until three months later, after repeated requests by the Los Angeles Times for a report.

   City Manager Steve Mermell promises he’ll look further into it and report later. Isn’t this more of the city reviewing its own mismanagement? Isn’t this scandal worth an investigation completely independent of the city management, which manages the police department? The finance department scandal certainly did.

   It’s hard to believe that some lowly officer would have skipped making a report on an OD with a famous doctor in a local hotel without direction from above. It would appear that the police union’s investigation of the officer’s discipline reflects some doubt as to who made the call. The city’s elected leaders need to find out and reveal to the public where the buck stopped in this coverup.

   The scandal and coverup are yet another reason the council should hire an independent police auditor that they earlier said they didn’t need, as the city was doing a good job in police oversight. This, coupled with Lt. Vasken Gourdikian’s investigation by the ATF for allegedly illegally selling guns, does not build community trust in the police, as Chief Phillip Sanchez says he’s doing.

   At the very least, the City Council needs now to hire, yet again, another independent investigator to get at the truth of another PPD scandal.

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