Disciplinary panel upholds suspension of prison doctor

OLYMPIA — A disciplinary panel has upheld a decision to indefinitely suspend the license of a former medical director at the Monroe prison.

Julia Barnett, 52, was fired in 2019 from her position as medical director of Monroe Correctional Complex following an investigation by the state Department of Corrections, the Everett Herald reported. The investigation found she provided insufficient medical care for at least six patients in the prison.

Barnett’s attorney D. Jeffrey Burnham declined to comment Tuesday, when a Daily Herald reporter reached him by phone.

The Washington Medical Commission had suspended Barnett in November but she appealed. A separate panel heard evidence in January and February before finding the indefinite suspension was warranted.

The second panel found unprofessional conduct under a provision of state law describing “incompetence, negligence or malpractice that results in injury to a patient or which creates an unreasonable risk that a patient may be harmed.”

The case against Barnett involved six patients, four of whom died, health officials said. The commission found Barnett failed to get each inmate the higher level of care that was required for their conditions and failed to adequately supervise the providers involved in the patients’ care.