Former Los Angeles-based Keck School of Medicine at USC Dean Carmen Puliafito, MD, admitted to having misused drugs while dean of the medical school during a state medical board hearing June 5 , according to the Los Angeles Times.
Here are five things to know:
1. Dr. Puliafito spoke out for the first time during the Medical Board of California's hearing June 5. The Los Angeles Times reports Dr. Puliafito admitted to using methamphetamine on a weekly basis with a young woman, Sarah Warren. He reportedly placed much of the blame for his drug misuse on Ms. Warren, claiming she upended his life by introducing him to methamphetamine.
"My insight was limited. I had a willing suspension of disbelief that [Ms. Warren] would ever hurt me. … I loved her and she expressed feelings of love to me," he said during the hearing. He also denied supplying Ms. Warren with drugs.
2. A Los Angeles Times report last summer initially drew attention to Dr. Puliafito's drug misuse and USC's decision to continue his employment at the institution for 16 months after he stepped down as dean. The investigation also revealed the institution's failure to report Dr. Puliafito to the state medical board. The medical board suspended Dr. Puliafito's medical license last September pending the completion of its investigation.
3. During the hearing, former Keck administrator Henri Ford, MD, told board officials he alerted USC Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs Michael W. Quick, PhD, to his concerns regarding Dr. Puliafito's behavior in March 2016 after receiving reports the former dean was partying in hotels with people of "questionable reputation." He said he did not possess "prima facie evidence of anything" at the time, but opted to make Dr. Quick aware of the situation.
4. Dr. Quick issued a statement June 6 confirming that Dr. Ford's information led him to reach out to medical school staff about Dr. Puliafito's behavior and to end his deanship, according to the report. He said Dr. Ford "did not share" specific information with him, and that he could "not recall any conversation that the dean was using drugs or [he] would have acted on that information immediately."
5. USC Board of Trustees Chairman Rick Caruso said June 5 he was "troubled" by Dr. Ford's testimony and plans to "get to the bottom of it," the report states.
To access the full report, click here.