Yee v. Smith

LIVELY, Chief Judge; KEITH, Circuit Judge; and DOWD, District Judge.* Per Curiam. The plaintiff appeals from an order of the district court granting the defendants' motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. Petition is a licensed psychiatrist in Michigan who was a member of the medical staff of Heritage Hospital, which is operated by People's Community Hospital Authority. In July 1981 his patient was admitted to the mental health until of heritage Hospital and plaintiff ordered the staff to provide oxygen to her bedside for usage she, the patient, requested. This order violated an admission policy of the mental health unit of Heritage Hospital which did not allow oxygen tanks, hoses and gauges to be left unsupervised in the psychiatric unit for safety reasons. The nursing staff challenged plaintiff's order, but plaintiff refused to compromise and was subsequently issued a letter from the hospital's executive committee, stating that he had disregarded department directives and requesting that he observe rules and regulations of the mental health unit in the future. No formal action was taken against plaintiff and his medical privileges remained intact. Plaintiff appealed the action of the executive committee through two administrative levels. His medical staff privileges at Heritage Hospital have never been limited, suspended or revoked since their initial grant in 1978. Eighteen months after the incident with the patient, plaintiff was appointed chief of the Department of Psychiatry at Heritage Hospital, thereby becoming a member of the executive committee. He resigned that position in July 1984 and filed this action.