SAN RAMON — An Alamo obstetrician surrendered her license to practice — four months after the state accused her of showing up with a blood-alcohol level of 0.30 for a cesarean delivery at San Ramon Regional Medical Center last year.
In a decision dated Monday, the Medical Board of California stated that Dr. Michelle Louise Riopelle will give up her practice, effective Aug. 3. The order was signed by William Prasifka, the medical board’s executive director.
Riopelle gave up her license to practice in lieu of a hearing on the accusation, which was filed March 26.
On July 20, Riopelle agreed that at a hearing, the state medical board “could establish a factual basis for the charges in the accusation and that those charges constitute cause for discipline,” according to documents filed by state Attorney General Xavier Becerra and Jane Zack Simon, supervising deputy attorney general.
The hospital episode occurred around midnight, Aug. 1, 2019, when Riopelle was on call for labor and delivery duty at the hospital, according to the accusation.
Riopelle got a call from another obstetrician at the hospital to assist with a cesarean section and went in to help with the delivery.
The hospital’s bylaws require a 30-minute response time for a cesarean section assistant. When Riopelle failed to report after 40 minutes, the nursing staff phoned her and were told she was in the parking lot, according to the state’s accusation. When Riopelle got inside, the attending obstetrician began the cesarean procedure.
“When respondent entered the hospital, nursing staff noticed she was unsteady on her feet, slurring her speech, confused and incoherent,” the accusation said. “Respondent had difficulty washing her hands and was unable to tie her shoes or properly put on her mask and gloves. Respondent denied taking any medication, and maintained she was fine.”
Riopelle ignored the nursing staff and entered the operating room, “where — in the presence of the patient and her husband — she attempted without success to put on a gown and gloves,” according to the medical board.
Riopelle was escorted out and the obstetrician completed the cesarean with the help of a pediatrician. She was taken to the emergency room for an evaluation and found to “have altered speech and poor coordination,” the accusation said.
Riopelle said she took a muscle relaxant at noon the previous day, and denied consuming any other medication or alcohol, according to the accusation. The emergency room physician ran her through a full neurological evaluation, including a CT scan, which turned out to be negative.“After a blood test revealed a blood alcohol level of 0.30%, respondent was discharged to her husband’s care with a diagnosis of acute alcohol intoxication,” the accusation said.
A blood alcohol content of 0.08% or higher is considered legally impaired in the United States.
Riopelle received her physician and surgeon license on April 25, 1988, according to the Medical Board of California.
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