DENTIST ACCUSED OF CHILD ABUSE.Byline: Janette Williams Staff Writer PASADENA - Pediatric pediatric /pe·di·at·ric/ (pe?de-at´rik) pertaining to the health of children. pe·di·at·ric adj. Of or relating to pediatrics. dentist Drueciel Ford, 49, was arrested at her Green Street office Wednesday morning on suspicion of child abuse and unprofessional conduct, 11 months after a sedated 15-year-old patient almost died while having a tooth pulled. At an afternoon arraignment A criminal proceeding at which the defendant is officially called before a court of competent jurisdiction, informed of the offense charged in the complaint, information, indictment, or other charging document, and asked to enter a plea of guilty, not guilty, or as otherwise permitted in Pasadena Superior Court, Ford pleaded not guilty to giving Melissa Marie McGrath and four other young children overdoses of the sedative sedative, any of a variety of drugs that relieve anxiety. Most sedatives act as mild depressants of the nervous system, lessening general nervous activity or reducing the irritability or activity of a specific organ. chloral hydrate chloral hydrate (klōr`əl hī`drāt), central nervous system depressant that is widely used as a hypnotic, or sleep-inducing drug. during dental procedures. Ford, the mother of four small children, could face up to six years in prison on each of five felony counts of child abuse if convicted; a fine of $1,000 and up to one year in jail on one misdemeanor count of obstructing an emergency medical technician e·mer·gen·cy medical technician n. Abbr. EMT A person trained and certified to appraise and initiate the administration of emergency care for victims of trauma or acute illness before or during transportation of victims to a health care ; up to a year in jail on one felony count of preparing false documentary evidence A type of written proof that is offered at a trial to establish the existence or nonexistence of a fact that is in dispute. Letters, contracts, deeds, licenses, certificates, tickets, or other writings are documentary evidence. ; and up to one year in jail on two felony counts of dissuading a witness. Ford was expected to be released on $380,000 bail late Wednesday, according to Robert H McNeill Jr., her attorney. McGrath was left severely brain-damaged after Ford gave her an overdose of the drug before the tooth extraction Tooth Extraction Definition Tooth extraction is the removal of a tooth from its socket in the bone. Purpose Extraction is performed for positional, structural, or economic reasons. Teeth are often removed because they are impacted. in March, deputy District Attorney Albert MacKenzie told the court. ``She was dead for 28 minutes while paramedics worked on her,'' MacKenzie said. ``She has been seriously handicapped since . . . and when paramedics arrived, Dr. Ford denied she had given (McGrath) any type of anesthetic, and said she must have taken illegal drugs prior to coming to the office.'' This, MacKenzie said, sent paramedics down the wrong path in their attempts to resuscitate re·sus·ci·tate v. To restore consciousness, vigor, or life to. McGrath, whose heart and breathing had stopped. When the paramedics arrived, Ford also did not tell them that two small children were lying unconscious in another room, MacKenzie said. Ford, who appeared in court wearing a white lab coat and pants, also had her license to practice dentistry suspended Wednesday by Judge Terry Smerling at the request of California Deputy Attorney General Zaven V. Sinanian. Ford has been in practice 21 years. Sinanian, in court representing the state Board of Dental Examiners, asked the judge to make the suspension of Ford's license a condition of bail because of the danger she would present to the public if she were allowed to continue practicing dentistry. Four other alleged victims, all between 3 and 5 years old, were also given overdoses of chloral hydrate but were less severely affected, MacKenzie said. |
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