Former hospital emergency doctor charged with rape | Public Records

A doctor formerly contracted to the emergency room at Magnolia Regional Medical Center has been charged with rape.

Dr. Jeremy Wayne Saul, 44, of London (Pope County), was initially arrested by the Magnolia Police Department on Tuesday, April 2, 2024.

His arrest came after a patient at MRMC reported to Magnolia police that he had been raped by the doctor.

A spokesman for Magnolia Regional Medical Center said Saul is employed by Emergency Staffing Solutions. ESS is a Dallas-based company contracted by the hospital to provide physicians to work in its emergency department.

Karen Weido, executive assistant at the hospital, said Saul suspended his services at the hospital on Friday, March 29.

Saul made his first court appearance on Thursday, May 2, 2024, at the Columbia County Correctional Facility. After the performance, Saul was charged with rape and released on $200,000 bail.

No new court date has been set for Saul. Additionally, no probable cause affidavit had been made publicly available as of Tuesday evening. A probable cause affidavit is a statement prepared by investigators outlining the reasons for criminal charges against a person. Such affidavits are typically made available to the public a few days after the defendant’s initial court appearance and bail is set.

“We have conducted a comprehensive reassessment of the screening procedures that were in place when the physician began providing services as a contract worker. “He was in good standing with the Arkansas State Medical Board and passed all state-required exams, including the Centralized Credentials Verification Service exams, state and county background checks, and the National Practitioner Data Bank,” Weido said in a response to a magnoliareporter.com -E-mail.

“The hospital places great emphasis on patient safety through rigorous staff training, strict access controls and 24-hour surveillance in common areas, and other established protocols. We are currently reviewing additional recommendations to improve these guidelines,” Weido said.

A Facebook page under Saul’s name, posted on Saturday, May 4, 2024, included statements regarding allegations that “have come to light and relate to allegations of misconduct toward a patient under my care.”

magnoliareporter.com could not independently verify whether Saul wrote the post.

However, the post states in part that Saul maintained a high level of trust “which is essential between a doctor and his patients.” I take any allegations of misconduct extremely seriously and am deeply concerned by the allegations made.

“I am fully committed to cooperating in the investigation process. Transparency is crucial and I am prepared to work closely with investigative authorities to ensure that all facts come to light quickly and accurately. My primary goal is to resolve this matter in a way that increases confidence in the medical profession and addresses all concerns of my patients and their families,” the post reads.

An Internet search for references to Saul revealed that he worked as a family physician at locations throughout Arkansas. In 2006, he graduated from the University of Arkansas College of Medicine.

On July 11, 2018, Saul – then a student pilot – was involved in a plane accident when the single-engine Cessna 150 he was flying crashed into the tree line while attempting to take off from Gaston’s White River Resort. Saul was taken to a hospital in Springfield, MO for treatment of his serious injuries.

The National Transportation Safety Board’s final report on the crash noted that the pilot’s blood alcohol level was not measured after the accident.

“The student pilot stated that he had drunk alcohol on the afternoon of the flight. In addition, he admitted to taking baclofen and bupropion, which are potentially harmful drugs that are specifically warned of increased adverse health effects when combined with alcohol. “It is likely that the pilot was impaired by the consumption of a combination of alcohol, baclofen and bupropion and that these effects likely increased his willingness to fly while impaired and prevented him from taking off safely,” the report said.

The report states that before the accident, a witness observed the student pilot “with a white cup and the student pilot reported to the witness that the cup contained a margarita.” She further reported that she saw him at the resort about three times with “each time “I observed two cups. The student pilot invited the witness to fly on his plane, but she declined.”

Police found a liquid believed to be alcohol in a white cup in the wreckage.

“The student pilot had not reported any chronic illnesses to the Federal Aviation Administration and had only reported taking finasteride. After the accident, he told his doctors that he was suffering from muscle spasms, severe depression and high blood pressure and was taking baclofen, bupropion, a combination tablet of lisinopril and hydrochlorothiazide, and finasteride to treat these conditions. He also admitted to drinking alcohol the afternoon before the flight. The student pilot refused a blood draw by law enforcement and no clinical toxicology test was performed,” the report states.