State reprimands doctor for inappropriately touching patients at ACI
PROVIDENCE – The state Department of Health has reprimanded a former doctor at the Adult Correctional Institutions after investigating complaints that he inappropriately slapped the buttocks of five male inmates.
State health officials issued a consent order reprimanding Dr. Morris Elevado and directing him to successfully complete ethics and boundary training for physicians after an investigation into the men’s claims. He must also pay $1,100 in administrative fees.
What were the complaints?
According to the order, state Department of Corrections Inspector Charles “Chip” Devine filed a complaint last June alleging that Elevado engaged in misconduct against five men being held in maximum security at the ACI on April 25 of that year. The men alleged that Elevado fist-bumped them and slapped each on the buttocks as they left the room at the close of their medical examination.
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Elevado admitted fist-bumping and slapping several of the men on the buttocks as they left the examination room and commenting to one about a digital rectal exam. He told the investigator that he intended to make the patient laugh, not to be offensive, the order states.
The committee investigating the claims determined there was probable cause to find Elevado’s comment inappropriate and that the touching fell outside of clinical care, making it not clinically appropriate. The committee’s findings came after viewing video footage of the interactions.
The consent order specifies that Elevado was not in agreement with the committee’s findings.
“He wants to put this behind him,” Elevado’s lawyer, Paul Galamaga, said, adding that the video footage reveals “there’s absolutely nothing to these allegations.”
J.R. Ventura, spokesman for corrections, declined comment other than to say, “That individual was a third-party contractor and has not worked here since April of 2022.”
Elevado worked as a subcontractor at the prison from 2014 through April, according to the state. He has been licensed to practice in Rhode Island since 2003 and specializes in gastroenterology.
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Men had previously reached out to The Journal with their concerns
Several men serving time contacted The Journal earlier this year about complaints brought against Elevado under the Prison Rape Elimination Act, a federal law aimed at eliminating rape and sexual abuse behind bars. The Journal declined to name the doctor at the time because no formal action had been taken.
The men reported being very uncomfortable and violated during their interactions with Elevado.
Passed in 2003, PREA governs all correctional facilities nationwide and requires that each unit be audited by federal inspectors every three years. All allegations of sexual abuse and sexual harassment are reported annually and are investigated in Rhode Island by the special investigations unit or the Office of Inspections.
According to the 2021 report, there were 154 PREA-related incidents at the ACI, with two substantiated allegations of sexual abuse and seven substantiated sexual-harassment claims by fellow inmates. There were no substantiated complaints against staff.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Doctor who worked at ACI to undergo training after buttocks-slapping
