One of the Allegheny County Jail doctors was suspended from working at the jail Wednesday following a published report outlining his license suspensions in other states.
Dr. Wilson Bernales is one of the two medical doctors at the county jail contracted through Allegheny Health Network. On Wednesday, Dan Laurent, vice president of internal and external communications for Allegheny Health Network, confirmed to the Post-Gazette that, following the report by the Pittsburgh Institute of Nonprofit Journalism, Dr. Bernales had been suspended while a fuller assessment of his qualifications and state license is conducted.
“In light of new information we have learned about Dr. Bernales’ work history, we are looking further into his state licensing approval and revisiting our own processes and protocols for hiring physicians to work at the jail,” Mr. Laurent said.
According to PINJ, Dr. Bernales started working at the Allegheny County Jail in July. Before this, he had his medical license suspended, revoked or denied in Connecticut, Delaware, Louisiana, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Virginia and Wyoming. Dr. Bernales is on probation after his suspension in the states of Delaware and Oklahoma.
Such disciplinary actions against Dr. Bernales are the result of failed board exams, residency and internship suspensions and forged recommendation letters along with false evaluations from former employers, reported the PINJ.
However, Dr. Bernales is licensed to practice in Pennsylvania.
“The locums physician staffing agency that AHN works with vetted Dr. Bernales’ qualifications, confirmed his good standing with the PA licensing board and facilitated AHN’s hiring of him to provide care at the jail,” Mr. Laurent said.
Though the Allegheny Health Network is responsible to verifying credentials and hires, the Allegheny County Jail interviews all potential providers assigned to the jail and performs security clearance checks on all employees and contractors through the National Crime Information Center database which indicates felonies and recent charges, Jesse Geleynse, jail spokesperson, told the Post-Gazette. The report does not reflect information about medical licenses or credentials.
“The jail then compares the NCIC report with the self-disclosure forms submitted by the individual, and clearance decisions are made on that basis,” Mr. Geleynse said. “Dr. Bernales was granted a security clearance based on the result of the NCIC report, so there would have been no reason for the jail to question his credentials.”
While Dr. Bernales is suspended from work at the county jail, clinical duties at the jail will be assumed by other rotating clinicians, Mr. Laurent said.
Attempts to locate a phone number or other contact information for Dr. Bernales were unsuccessful.
First Published: October 5, 2022, 11:31 p.m.
Updated: October 6, 2022, 12:56 p.m.
