A Bogalusa doctor claims his name and reputation were destroyed by the LSU System.
Dr. Dennis LaRavia, a family physician for 35 years, filed a lawsuit in May against several members of the LSU System including Fred Cerise, System vice president; Kim LeBlanc, chairman of LSU Family Medicine at LSU Health Sciences Center-New Orleans; and Larry Hollier, of LSUHSC-NO.
Others named in the suit are Charles Zewe, System vice president of communication and external affairs; Kurt Scott, LSU Bogalusa Medical Center’s hospital administrator; and members of the LSU Board of Supervisors.
The turmoil between LaRavia and the System first began in May 2005. LaRavia was hired at LSUHSC-NO to become its program director with the intention of creating the Rural Family Medicine Residency Program, using LSUBMC as the training site.
The program was given accreditation in September 2007, according to the petition filed by LaRavia. Around the same time, local physicians from Bogalusa, a city in Washingtom Parish near the Mississippi border, approached LSU asking them to fire LaRavia.
LaRavia said in the petition that the physicians were concerned that the residency program would compete with their own practices, as well as “produce family physicians in the community who would compete directly with them and take away their business.”
The petition said LeBlanc fired LaRavia in December 2007 through a letter.
System officials approached the Bogalusa Daily News telling them LaRavia had “engaged in Medicare and Medicaid fraud … in malfeasance … in malpractice … [and is] facing charges with the Texas Medical Board and would lose his medical license,” according to the petition.
LaRavia said in the petition that these allegations are false.
The Bogalusa Daily News quoted Cerise on Jan. 23 saying that “LaRavia’s behavior put at risk this vital medical training.”
LaRavia is suing LSU claiming he was fired for political reasons and then libeled, slandered and defamed.
Zewe said LSU’s actions against LaRavia were appropriate.
“LSU will vigorously defend itself against the assertions made in LaRavia’s lawsuit,” Zewe said. “We will make our arguments in a proper judicial setting.”
Members of the Bogalusa community have followed LaRavia’s firing with outcries and started a petition to have him reinstated.
The petition, which is available at petitiononline.com, had 457 signatures as of Wednesday at 6 p.m.
Brenda Sumrall, one of the signees and a resident of Bush, said LaRavia is an “upstanding human being” and a great doctor.
“It was just awful having them just fire him without a reason and making up all the garbage about him,” Sumrall said.
She said she knew LaRavia because they were in the same Mardi Gras krewe and because he had treated her sister- and brother-in-law.
“He’s the best thing that ever happened to Bogalusa,” Sumrall said. “I was so excited when they came to Bogalusa, and to have him done this way is just horrible.”
Chris Workman, another signee and a Bogalusa resident, said LaRavia treated his three-year-old daughter in one office visit after spending countless days working with other doctors.
“He’s an outstanding doctor and a great person to have in the community,” Workman said. “People are still upset about it … the residency program is going to suffer because of it.”
Workman said he decided to find medical care for his family elsewhere.
“A lot of people are just going to show their displeasure by just not going [to LSUBMC] and let the residency program go by the wasteside,” Workman said.
The Daily Reveille was unable to reach Jill Craft, LaRavia’s attorney, before press deadline.
The editor of the Bogalusa Daily News was unable to be reached by press deadline.