St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center in Syracuse, N.Y., which took a big financial hit after suspending high-volume, "butt-slapping" orthopedic surgeon Michael Clarke, MD, has decided to restore Dr. Clarke's privileges. News that the hospital is reinstating Dr. Clarke comes on the heels of reports that St. Joseph's posted an operating loss of $4.1 million in the first 6 months of this year, while Dr. Clarke did his cases at a hospital across town.

Dr. Clarke was suspended in February, after staff members accused him of calling anesthetized patients derogatory names and slapping them so hard that he left red marks and hand prints on their buttocks. The hospital, according to federal investigators, had ignored staff complaints for more than a year, before finally taking action. Dr. Clarke was also accused of directing sexually explicit language at staff members during procedures.

When the accusations came to light, Dr. Clarke claimed that slapping patients was his way of testing the adequacy of their spinal anesthetic.

St. Joseph's has reportedly told its staff and volunteers that going forward, "Dr. Clarke must agree to the hospital's Code of Conduct" and that according to its Board of Trustees, which voted to reinstate Dr. Clarke, the hospital has acted appropriately in upholding its vision and values throughout the process.

"You can't put a price on civility," we tell you in our October issue, which is due to land in your mailbox this week. Apparently we were wrong.

Attempts by Outpatient Surgery to reach St. Joseph's for comment were unsuccessful.

Jim Burger