Wednesday, March 19th, 2014
Local veterinarian pleads no contest to practicing acupuncture on humans
By Shelley Grieshop
CELINA - An area veterinarian recently pleaded no contest in court to practicing acupuncture on four people.
Ronald C. Anders, 58, 800 N. Seventh St., Coldwater, offered the plea last week to four "certificate of practice" violations in Celina Municipal Court. The misdemeanor charges stem from incidents in 2009 and 2011.
Judge James Scheer ordered Anders to pay court costs and follow conditions already issued in a related 2011 civil case filed against him in Mercer County Common Pleas Court.
Anders in the common pleas court case was "permanently prohibited and restrained from rendering diagnosis of or performing medical procedures on human patients" in the state of Ohio, according to a judgment filed Nov. 10, 2011.
The Ohio Veterinary Medical Licensing Board in July 2011, threatened to issue a reprimand, or suspend or revoke Anders' veterinary medicine license after receiving a complaint that he performed laser acupuncture therapy and administered injections of traumeel and cyanocobalamin to a human on May 26, 2011, and May 31, 2011.
"You are not licensed to practice as a physician in the state of Ohio," the licensing board wrote.
A settlement agreement between the parties was filed July 11, 2012. Anders agreed to waive his right to an appeal, pay a $2,000 fine and undergo a license suspension for several days in July, August and September 2012.
The licensing board settled another complaint against Anders in December 2012 for providing below minimum standards of care while treating a diabetic dog on Aug. 17, 2012. Anders was issued a $500 fine and ordered to complete educational courses on diabetes.
The recent municipal court case was filed by Todd Knaus of the Ohio State Board of Pharmacy and investigated by the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office. Authorities said the delay in the filing of charges was due to the lengthy joint investigation by state and local officials.
Theresa Stir, executive director of the state veterinarian medical licensing board, told the newspaper on Tuesday she did not know if further complaints would be filed against Anders following sentencing in the municipal court case.
