As seen in the report, more than one doctor has had disciplinary problems at this fine facility. From the Atlanta Journal Constitution
Dr. Mohammad Qureshi seemed typical of the psychiatrists at Georgia's state mental hospitals.
He was young, with just a few years' experience. He trained at a foreign medical college. And he was willing to work for the relatively low pay the state offers to those who treat the extremely difficult patients who occupy its psychiatric facilities.
But for five months this year while working at Northwest Georgia Regional Hospital in Rome, Qureshi was under suspicion for sexually molesting patients on his second job 90 miles away.
Still, he continued seeing patients at the state hospital until police arrested him in late September. At least 12 women have told authorities that Qureshi fondled them during psychiatric examinations at a Gwinnett County clinic.
The psychiatrist's arrest prompted an investigation at Northwest Georgia Regional. But no patients there made allegations against him.
"There is no evidence of any misconduct by Dr. Qureshi," said Kenya Bello, a spokeswoman for the Department of Human Resources, which runs the state hospitals.
Qureshi, 45, of Lawrenceville has pleaded not guilty. He is free on bond, awaiting trial on sexual assault charges, facing the possibility of years in prison. DHR fired Qureshi from Northwest Georgia Regional, and the state medical board could suspend or revoke his license.
The case is playing out as officials face questions about the quality of medical care in the seven state psychiatric hospitals.
The U.S. Justice Department is investigating whether poor care in the facilities violates the civil rights of patients. Meanwhile, a panel appointed by Gov. Sonny Perdue is examining the role of the hospitals' staff physicians in creating and sustaining dangerous conditions, among other issues surrounding mental health care in Georgia.
The inquiries followed articles in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporting that at least 115 patients died under suspicious circumstances from 2002 through 2006, many after questionable medical treatment.
Qureshi's lawyer, Andrew Margolis, did not respond to requests for an interview. He proclaimed his client's innocence at a hearing last month.
Qureshi, a native of Pakistan, is a U.S. citizen, according to his state personnel records. He graduated from Sindh Medical College at the University of Karachi in 1986 and trained at the University of Connecticut from 1999 to 2003. Files on his medical licenses in New York and Georgia do not show where he practiced during the 13-year interval.
Qureshi came to Georgia in 2006 after working for 19 months at a state mental hospital in Ogdensburg, N.Y., on the Canadian border.
At the St. Lawrence Psychiatric Center, hospital administrators received no complaints about Qureshi's behavior, said Dr. Hari Sanghi, the clinical director.
"Nothing," Sanghi said. "We don't have any adverse record on him. He was doing his job properly. We did not see any problems."
Qureshi left the New York hospital, Sanghi said, to be near his parents after they moved to Georgia.
He went to work at Northwest Georgia Regional in November 2006. His annual salary was $108,000 for a 32-hour work week — a significant cut from the $145,000 a year he earned in New York.
About the same time, Qureshi took a second job with the Gwinnett-Rockdale-Newton Community Service Board, which operates several mental health clinics in three counties outside Atlanta.
In April, according to recent court testimony, two female patients at the community service board's Lawrenceville clinic complained that Qureshi had touched them inappropriately. The board's director warned Qureshi but kept him on the staff, a police detective testified.
Qureshi's personnel file does not reflect whether anyone at the community service board notified state officials about the allegations. In fact, the file makes no mention of Qureshi's second job in Rome.
By September, complaints about Qureshi had escalated.
A 43-year-old woman alleged that during a psychiatric session, Qureshi had instructed her to disrobe and then fondled her. Over the next few weeks, 11 more women came forward to Gwinnett authorities with similar allegations.
Northwest Georgia Regional suspended Qureshi shortly after his arrest on Sept. 28. He remained on the state payroll until Oct. 22, three days after a Gwinnett County magistrate judge bound the case over to Superior Court for trial.
State personnel officers thoroughly checked Qureshi's background and credentials before hiring him, said Bello, the DHR spokeswoman. Sanghi, who was Qureshi's supervisor in New York, said he gave him a positive recommendation when Georgia officials called for a reference.
Past ethical lapses do not necessarily disqualify physicians from working in Georgia's state hospitals.
At least five doctors now employed in the facilities were hired despite having been disciplined for drug abuse. Another had temporarily lost his license because of alcohol use. Yet another had been punished for sexual misconduct with two of his patients at a private psychiatric hospital.
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