The Washington State Department of Health suspended the license of Joel O. Diven, a dentist at McNeil Island Correctional Facility. This action was in response to Mr. Diven’s potentially life threatening treatment of a patient who was a prisoner. In May, an unnamed prisoner went to the dentist for a tooth extraction. Diven removed the tooth and a portion of the person’s jaw. According to state documents, he then abandoned the patient -- who had a compromised airway, dropping blood pressure, and was bleeding. The prisoner had to be rushed to Harborview Medical Center and still suffers pain and other problems related to the botched extraction.

This news brief is based on a Washington State News Brief from KGW.Com [1]. If the link is broken, check the news agency’s archives.