THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 16, 1996 TAG: 9608160539
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARIE JOYCE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 57 lines
Four cancer doctors suing Sentara Health System will not be allowed to practice in South Hampton Roads before the case goes to trial next month.
A temporary injunction, requested by Sentara, was entered in Norfolk Circuit Court on Thursday. Whether the doctors will be able to resume their local practice in the next year will be decided by the trial in late September.
In the meantime, Sentara and the doctors have made arrangements for the care of their 1,500 patients.
The four doctors - Thomas D. Brown, Paul R. Conkling, J.R. Howard Jr. and Michael E. Lee - work for a practice owned by Sentara. They see patients in two Norfolk offices: NDC Medical Center and Sentara Cancer Institute.
Saying that they are dissatisfied with the management of the practice and that they want to work more closely with other cancer specialists, the doctors have quit. Their last day is today.
But a ``noncompete'' clause in their employment contract says three of the doctors cannot practice within 25 miles of their currentoffices for one year after leaving. Lee, the newest member of the group, cannot do so for two years.
The four doctors have sued, saying the contract is unfair and not in the best interest of the community.
Sentara filed a request with the court, asking that the doctors be barred from practicing locally until the suit is decided.
The doctors have referred questions to their attorney, who was not available for comment Thursday.
Although the doctors' employment ends today, one of the physicians, Brown, will remain on duty through the weekend to tend to hospitalized patients, said Sentara spokeswoman Deborah Aiken Myers.
On Monday, Brown will make his rounds with one of the doctors hired to replace him and his colleagues, said Myers.
The new doctor is Samuel W. Needleman, 47. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania's medical school, Needleman was associate director of medical education at Philadelphia's Frankford Hospital.
Two other doctors also have been hired but can't start until September, Sentara officials said.
In the meantime, Sentara has contracted with two other practices: Cancer Specialists of Tidewater, with offices in Virginia Beach and Chesapeake; and Mid-Atlantic Hematology and Oncology Specialists, with offices in Chesapeake and Norfolk.
Starting Monday, Needleman will be on duty at Sentara Cancer Institute, Myers said. A doctor from Mid-Atlantic will handle cases at NDC Medical Center.
Patients also may be seen at one of the offices owned by Mid-Atlantic and Cancer Specialists.
ILLUSTRATION: Patients seeking more information may call the NDC
nursing administration department at 446-5913 or 466-5667.
KEYWORDS: LAWSUIT SENTARA by CNB