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Tri-Cities doctor charged with unprofessional conduct after patient dies

By Annette Cary, Tri-City Herald
Published: February 1, 2021, 8:03am

KENNEWICK — A doctor practicing at Kadlec Regional Medical Center has been charged with unprofessional conduct by the Washington state Department of Health.

It says Dr. Jared Guenter Wolfert, an osteopathic physician, apparently did not test for heart problems in a man who came to the hospital’s emergency department and died days later of cardiac arrest.

Wolfert disputes the charge, said his attorney, Peter Ritchie of Yakima, but declined to say more during the investigation.

The Department of Health charged him in November and announced the charge in January, but the death was two years ago.

In mid-November 2018, a 58-year-old man was brought to the emergency department by ambulance with back pain, unusual sweating and near loss of consciousness, according to the state Department of Health.

He had two similar episodes in the past week, it said.

The man had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, high blood pressure and had smoked for 30 years, according to the state.

There was no evidence that Wolfert performed any tests to determine if the symptoms could be caused by a heart issue, nor was there any conversation documented in the notes of the visit related to a possible heart-related diagnosis, the state said.

Wolfert discharged the man from the emergency room with an anti-inflammatory prescription and a muscle relaxant prescription for back pain, the state said.

Shortly after the patient was released from the emergency room he went into cardiac arrest and died two days later, the state said.

Wolfert has been licensed to practice medicine in Washington state since 2010.

He is employed at Kadlec through a contract with Team Health, which provides emergency room physicians and other medical professionals to health care facilities across the nation.

The Department of Health did not say whether Wolfert was practicing in November 2018 at the emergency department at the Richland hospital or its emergency room on 19th Avenue in Kennewick.

Kadlec is aware of the state Department of Health complaint but cannot comment while the matter is being investigated, it said in a statement.

“Kadlec is dedicated to the highest standards of patient safety,” the hospital said. “We take any and all concerns about patient safety extremely seriously and fully investigate as appropriate.”

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