This story is part of a major investigation by 乌鸦传媒 and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel into physicians who had public actions against their licenses in one state, but are able to practice elsewhere with "clean" licenses.
Gayle Simpson Bowman fondly remembers the days when her young son and daughter were doted on by their grandmother, Frances Simpson.
Simpson was like a third parent. She got the children ready for school each morning and spent summer days playing with them.
One year, she planted sunflowers in her backyard and created a "sunflower house" with walls made of flowers. The sunflowers formed a room and she and the children would hold private tea parties at the table and chairs tucked inside.
"She was so smart and so kind," Bowman said. "She loved my kids so much."
In 1998, Simpson, 68, underwent elective colon surgery; she was expected to fully recover.
Then Jay Riseman, MD, got involved in her care, overseeing her recovery.
According to court records, he failed to remove and relocate a catheter even after test results showed signs that a staph infection had spread to her blood. The same records say he further failed to act when she showed symptoms of sepsis, including severe vomiting, disorientation and fever.
Simpson died a few days later.
"My mom was a great woman who died a painful and avoidable death," Bowman said. "The hardest part is to know that he still is practicing medicine. I don't know how that can happen in this world."
Riseman racked up more than a dozen malpractice lawsuits in the first part of his career. According to court filings and state medical board records, he:
- Sliced into one patient's bile duct and misread another's breast biopsy
- Neglected to tell patients he wasn't a pediatric surgeon and performed unnecessary surgeries on infants
- Prescribed massive amounts of Fleet phospho-soda -- two to four times more than a full grown adult would get -- for babies on whom he was set to perform colon surgery
Molly Hobbie, of Springfield, Ill., recalls confronting Riseman about the laxative he ordered for her infant daughter, Megan, prior to a planned surgery in 1999.
Hobbie and a home healthcare nurse tried to give the drug to her daughter, but she became ill, began vomiting and would only take about one-third the amount Riseman had prescribed -- still twice the dose recommended for an adult. Hobbie confronted him with the package that showed that her daughter had been prescribed far too much.
"I threw a fit with Dr. Riseman," she said. "It fell on deaf ears."
She said she has no doubt her daughter would have died had she been given the full amount.
A week later, Riseman prescribed a similar amount for a smaller and younger baby girl, 2-month-old Morgan Brooks. According to a lawsuit, the dose was more than twice what is allowed for an adult and about 10 times what should be given to a child five to nine years old.
The dose was so out of line that a pediatric nurse at first refused to administer it. But Riseman wrote a new order -- for it to be given over eight hours.
The baby died.
"It's something you don't ever get over," said Tonya Brooks, who lives in Decatur, Ill., and says she thinks about her daughter every day.
Riseman never apologized for what he did, she said.
"I have chosen to not follow what he does. Only because, if I did, it would drive me crazy in the long run," she said. "My baby was going to be fine, but no, he took that away from us."
In April 2002, the Illinois Board of Medicine put Riseman on indefinite probation for no less than five years, allowing him to perform surgery only after consulting with an approved surgeon. The order was based on the babies' cases and other allegations of malpractice.
One year later, he moved his practice to Harrisburg, Ill., and performed at least 14 surgeries without supervision, according to a 2004 complaint from the Department of Professional Regulations.
The board lifted his indefinite probation in 2007, five years after it was put in place.
Riseman started to pursue a career in another state.
He obtained a license in Missouri in 2008 and practices there today.
In May 2009, Colorado denied Riseman's attempt to get licensed in the state. Nearby Kansas issued him a license later that year.
While he was granted the Kansas license, the state's Board of Healing Art noted his problems in Illinois and prohibited him from performing surgery of any kind.
Over the next two years, Riseman asked the Kansas board to reconsider his limitation three times. The first two times, he was denied.
In 2011, Riseman tried a new tactic: He promised not to perform any surgeries in Kansas if the limitation was lifted.
It worked.
"Licensee has satisfied the Board's requirement to protect the public by and through Licensee's assurance that he will not practice surgery in the state of Kansas," the board wrote. "... the Board hereby grants Licensee's request to terminate the practice limitation against practicing surgical procedures imposed on Licensee."
Illinois residents can see Riseman's history on the state board's website. Kansas residents, too, have access to letters about his past problems.
But in Missouri, Riseman is merely listed as a certified surgeon without note of discipline or any limitations.
Riseman declined to be interviewed or respond to questions for this article.
Laurel Gifford, a spokeswoman for St. Luke's Hospital in Kansas City, where he works now, said Riseman has created a career he can be proud of: "From his perspective, he had a hard time, and he's moved on."
She also released a statement that read, in part, "Since joining St. Luke's, Dr. Riseman has continually received commendation for not only his clinical care but for the kindness and compassion he brings to his role. Early in his medical career, Dr. Riseman was inspired by a mentor who served hospice patients, and in 2009 Dr. Riseman decided to pursue a specialty in hospice and palliative medicine, for which he received additional training. During the past eight years Dr. Riseman has served his patients, their families and his staff with clinical excellence, patience, and insight. His commitment to the field of hospice and palliative care has enriched the lives of many he has touched with his thoughtful care and attention."
She noted that he was recognized by the Missouri Hospice and Palliative Care Association, who named him as their 2017 Distinguished Physician of the Year.