Two emergency medicine residents at beleaguered Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center are facing criminal charges -- one for drunk driving, the other for stealing a hand from a cadaver in New Jersey and giving it to an exotic dancer.
A third ER resident began treating patients at the public hospital this summer before he received his medical degree, schedules and interviews show.
The latest revelations come three months after the emergency medicine residency program suspended its director amid an inquiry into his conduct.
A confidential survey of ER residents earlier this year turned up serious concerns about working conditions in the emergency room. Residents complained that the teaching was poor, the hours were excessive and senior physicians in charge of supervising their work were frequently absent, according to two residents who had been briefed on the results.
King/Drew's entire future is in flux after federal regulators notified the hospital late last month that it had failed a make-or-break inspection and would lose $200 million annually in federal funds by the end of the year. Officials are developing plans to radically restructure King/Drew in hopes of receiving federal funds in the future.
Reform plans could include ending the hospital's affiliation with the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, which runs the doctor training programs at the hospital, including the ER program. Some, if not all, training programs may be forced to close.
Los Angeles County health officials said they cannot comment on personnel matters other than to confirm that the three ER residents are current employees.
"Each case is investigated with appropriate action taken as necessary," county health department spokesman Michael Wilson said in a statement.
Drew University spokesman Michael Downer referred questions to the county, which has a contract with the university to oversee the physician training programs.
The two residents facing criminal charges are second-year ER resident Ahmed Rashed and third-year Cleveland Enmon, one of the chief residents.
Rashed, 26, turned himself in to New Jersey authorities Sept. 18 after being charged with second-degree theft for allegedly stealing the left hand of a cadaver around June 2002 while he was a medical student at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.
The charge carries a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in state prison. He is free on $1,000 bail.
