The Iowa Board of Physician Assistants has suspended the license of a practitioner in Cedar Falls who is currently facing criminal charges for allegedly sexually assaulting female patients, according to the Iowa Capital Dispatch. James Haag was practicing occupational medicine at MercyOne’s Bluebell Road Family Medicine in Cedar Falls. Employees of Cedar Stone Senior Living received their job related physicals there and at least four women say they felt as though Haag had sexually assaulted them during their exams. They claim Haag would remove the patient’s robe and make physical contact with their genitals either with his hands or with his clothed pelvic area. They also say Haag made inappropriate contact with multiple patients’ breasts during the examinations. If the patients attempted to cover themselves, Haag would allegedly swat their hands away. These events are said to have happened prior to a female chaperone coming into the room to observe proceedings. The board noted that meticulous documentation was made by Haag regarding the presence of a chaperone, which was in sharp contrast to his documentation of the exam itself. Haag’s license has been suspended for three years. He will need to undergo a clinical competence assessment prior to any reinstatement. Haag has been charged with two counts of Sexual Abuse, two counts of Assault With Intent to Commit Sexual Abuse, and three coutns of Simple assault. He has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to go to trial on September 30th.
