Florida’s surgeon general has restricted the license of a doctor at UF Health The Villages Hospital after she was accused of coming to work legally intoxicated and then refusing to seek treatment for an alcohol use disorder.
According to a Florida Department of Health emergency restriction order dated April 16, Surgeon General Dr. Scott A. Rivkees took the action against Dr. Lora Thaxton after a nurse claimed she came to work impaired in December 2019. The hospital’s supervisor requested Thaxton provide a breath sample that showed a blood alcohol content of .10. In Florida, .08 is considered legally intoxicated.
Thaxton, a physical medicine & rehabilitation doctor, admitted to drinking a bottle of wine by herself the night prior to the breathalyzer, the report states. Sometime around Dec. 6, she self-reported the results of the test to the Professionals Resource Network, an organization that monitors impaired physicians.
In January, Dr. Michael Strolla, an expert in addiction medicine, evaluated Thaxton and took urine and blood samples. He then diagnosed her with moderate to severe alcohol use disorder and according to the document, her blood test “most likely indicates repeated binge drinking.”
Strolla recommended that Thaxton take part in treatment for her condition, as she was “unable to practice medicine with reasonable skill and safety to patients.” Thaxton then said upcoming medical treatments would prevent her from starting the treatment program. She was instructed to provide documentation of her upcoming treatment but in March said she wouldn’t do that and would no longer participate in the Professionals Resource Network, the document says.
As of last month, Thaxton still hadn’t undergone the recommended treatment, which prompted the surgeon general to step in and take action.
“Because Dr. Thaxton has failed to engage in recommended treatment, there is a significant likelihood that Dr. Thaxton’s inability to practice medicine with reasonable skill and safety to patients will continue without appropriate treatment and monitoring,” the document reads. “This constitutes an immediate, serious danger to the public health, safety and welfare. As a result, there are no less restrictive means, other than the terms of this order, that will adequately protect the public from Dr. Thaxton’s continued unrestricted practice of medicine.”
A request for comment from UF Health The Villages Hospital wasn’t returned on Friday.
