Well, this story is finally getting some media attention. However, the story being told is not necessarily they story I’ve heard. Dr. Stewart committed suicide last February, the day after being fired by Ocean Dental. He may have been fired, but Ocean knew full well of his problems. I’m hearing Ocean has been wiping hard drives and shredding documents trying to cover up how much they know and how long they knew it. At issue, as I’m told, is Dr. Stewart’s heavy drug use that was commonly known by Ocean Dental and co-workers. He did most of the sedations for Ocean Dental, however, the patients might not have been getting the drugs…know what I mean?
I also am told the DEA has been on this case for some time..like well over a year!
Dentist Dies After Possibly Exposing Patients
Posted on: 12:22 pm, April 9, 2013, by Larry Henry and Shain Bergan, updated on: 03:58pm, April 9, 2013
In a news release on Tuesday (April 9), the Arkansas Department of Health said it is contacting about 100 patients from ages 14 to 22 treated by Dr. William Jarrod Stewart at six dental clinics around the state between Nov. 20, 2011, and Feb. 20, 2012.
Stewart, 40, died February 2012, officials said.
By letter and telephone, the state is contacting patients who received IV medication delivered into a vein at these clinics: Ocean Dental clinics in Fayetteville, Fort Smith, Hot Springs, Jonesboro and Little Rock, and Bevans Pediatric Dentistry in Little Rock.
No one treated at the Fort Smith clinic has been identified as being at risk, the news release states.
The state, seeking the blood tests based on information from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, “has concluded that some of the drugs used by Dr. Stewart may have been contaminated with infectious material,” according to the news release.
Ocean Dental released a statement later in the day, saying state representatives are contacting 84 patients, including 68 Ocean Dental patients, who received IV sedation drugs from Stewart and may have been exposed to infectious diseases.
The patients are being offered free screenings for infectious diseases at local health department locations, according to Ocean Dental’s statement.
“Ocean Dental is not aware of any information indicating that Dr. Stewart had any infectious disease,” according to the statement.
For information, contact the state Department of Health hotline at 1-800-633-1735 from 8:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Monday through Friday or e-mail the department at ivsedationconcerns@arkansas.gov.