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News Release — May 8, 2007
MEDICAL BOARD OF CALIFORNIA
May 8, 2007
Suspension of Simi Valley Midwife's License Upheld
SACRAMENTO—On May 7, 2007, in response to a Petition for Interim Suspension filed by Deputy Attorney General Cindy Lopez on behalf of the Medical Board of California, Administrative Law Judge Vincent Nafarrete upheld a full interim suspension order previously imposed on Simi Valley midwife Marcia Kay McCulley on March 1, 2007 by Administrative Law Judge Timothy S. Thomas. At that time, McCulley was ordered to immediately cease and suspend her practice as a midwife and was ordered not to provide patient care pending the noticed hearing. Medical Board Executive Director Dave Thornton stated, "The mission of the Medical Board is to protect healthcare consumers. We work diligently to achieve our mission by vigorously enforcing the Medical Practice Act."
In February 2007, a licensed midwife and board expert reviewed six patient case files and concluded that McCulley's care and treatment violated the standards of care and is a danger to the public. Her conclusion was based on findings that, among other things, McCulley: failed to clearly chart her course of treatment of patients; failed to obtain informed consent for administration of procedures, including catherization, episiotomy, and IV fluids; failed to discuss with patients a plan of care and possible transfer to a hospital; performed an episiotomy underwater in the birth tub in the absence of fetal distress; failed to listen to fetal heart tones after every contraction in the second stage of labor; after a delivery, failed to perform proper resuscitation efforts upon the newborn; failed to properly chart and recognize a patient's acute blood loss as indicative of hemorrhagic shock; performed a vaginal examination prior to the onset of active labor, failed to transport the same patient to the hospital in a timely manner after requested by the patient and to consult with a physician during her prolonged second stage of labor lasting more than six hours, and administered Darvocet to the patient without a physician's order; failed to transfer a patient with a suspected retained placenta to the hospital; and failed to recognize that a patient was not fully dilated or that her baby was in a position making dilation and delivery more difficult. Under McCulley's care and treatment, two patients suffered extreme blood loss and one infant died.
In violation of the March 1, 2007 order to cease and suspend her practice as a midwife, McCulley was arrested on March 14, 2007 by board investigators for allegedly practicing medicine without a license.
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The mission of the Medical Board is to protect healthcare consumers through the proper licensing and regulation of physicians and surgeons and certain allied healthcare professions and through the vigorous, objective enforcement of the Medical Practice Act.
If you have a question or complaint about the healthcare you are receiving, the board encourages you to visit its Web site at www.mbc.ca.gov or for questions call the Consumer Information Line at (916) 263-2382, or with complaints call (800) 633-2322.
For up-to-date information on board activities, please join our "Subscribers' List" at www.mbc.ca.gov/subscribers.htm.
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