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Gun-holding doctor suspended

Healthcare Security Weekly, September 5, 2004

Salem (MA) Hospital and the state medical board are investigating a doctor who allegedly left a loaded handgun in an employee bathroom, The Boston Globe reported. The doctor agreed to not practice medicine for the next two weeks during the investigation.

Richard L. Pegar, MD, worked the overnight shift at the hospital. In a rush to answer a page, Pegar reportedly left the gun in an employee bathroom on August 30. Another staffer discovered the gun and contacted hospital security, which called the police.

Pegar carries a valid license for a firearm so police allowed him to keep the weapon, but the hospital suspended him for two weeks.

Pegar's attorney said he carried the gun because he worked late hours at the hospital emergency room and needed to find his car in the parking lot. Pegar was not aware of the hospital's policy to leave guns at home, the attorney said.

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