Carbondale Reporter

The Southern Illinoisan recently issued the following announcement.

A Chicago doctor who says he is treating more than 1,800 patients in Springfield, Rockford and the Chicago area had to stop practicing last month when the state suspended his license for failing to make child-support payments.

David Footerman, 66, said Sunday that the indefinite license suspension "seems overreaching, unjust and suspect," and he said his patients, many of whom are in the state's medical marijuana program, are suffering as a result.

He said he is three months' behind on child support for his three children, but is taking steps to eliminate the $10,800 in overdue payments and get his license reinstated.

For almost two years, Footerman has traveled weekly from his home to serve patients, many of whom are seeking certification for medical marijuana, at offices in Springfield, Rockford and Schaumburg.

He said his patients are being left in the lurch because of the action by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.

"The administrative violations did occur, but with no patient care or professional impairment involved, would monetary fines not make more sense, giving me the opportunity to practice and provide for the department?" he asked.

"Why ban this physician at the expense of the underserved and the possible saving of lives?" he asked. "I really am doing something in Springfield that is vitally important."

A spokesman for IDFPR couldn't be reached for comment.

The suspension was triggered by an apparent violation of terms of probation set by the department in 2014 and 2016. Footerman was fined $3,000 in 2014, and his license was put on probation, after a 2009 surgical case at Rockford's OSF HealthCare Saint Anthony Medical Center in which the patient went into cardiac arrest, according to documents from the state.

Here's a list of other central Illinois health-care professionals whose licenses have been disciplined recently by the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.

* Lisa Cantrell, a licensed practical nurse from Moweaqua. Her license was revoked after she pleaded guilty to, and was found guilty of, felony unlawful possession of controlled substances in Shelby County.

State officials said she also failed to report her firing from three health-care institutions -- Douglas Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Mattoon, Decatur Manor Health Care in Decatur, and Moweaqua Nursing and Retirement Home in Moweaqua -- and was impaired while working with patients and failed to properly maintain records.

* Breana Foster, a registered nurse from Springfield. Her license was reprimanded because she received a court disposition of "guilty conviction, no plea" in September 2015 for driving while intoxicated in Sangamon County. Foster failed to report the disposition to the state, officials said.

* Halee Colclasure, a pharmacy technician from Springfield. Her license was placed in "refuse to renew" status because she stole about 3,000 hydrocodone tablets from late 2011 to June 22, 2012, while employed at a CVS pharmacy at 3100 S. MacArthur Blvd. in Springfield, according to state officials.

* Ronnie Blom, a massage therapist from Litchfield. His license was permanently revoked after he was sentenced in January to an eight-year prison term for two counts of criminal sexual assault in Madison County Circuit Court.

* La'Shunda Bradley, a licensed practical nurse from Springfield. Her license was placed in "refuse to renew" status for failing to report a discipline of her license from the state of Texas in connection with her failure to document the assessment of a patient at Dallas Regional Hospital in Mesquite, Texas.

Original source can be found here.