Tower Health doctor fired
A Tower Health surgeon has been fired following allegations she prescribed ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine to patients to treat COVID.
According to a statement from Tower Health, officials at the hospital became aware of accusations levied at Dr. Edith Behr on Wednesday.
“Tower Health became aware yesterday of the allegations involving Dr. Edith Behr prescribing ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of COVID-19,” a statement released Thursday says. “We investigated the matter and, as a result, Dr. Behr’s employment with Tower Health Medical Group has been terminated effective immediately.”
The statement says that neither drug has been approved by the FDA for prevention or treatment of COVID.
Behr could not immediately be reached for comment.
Behr has been connected in
media reports to a Lebanon County woman who has been using the Facebook page of a Palmyra restaurant to help people obtain ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine.
The Facebook page features several videos of Christine Mason, identified as Taste of Sicily owner Silvana Drill’s daughter, offering to help people get access to the drugs. She doesn’t use the names of the drugs — referring to them as “I” and “H” — but comments by viewers on the video make clear that she is referring to ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine.
Mason says in the videos that she is in contact with a Wyomissing doctor who will provide prescriptions for the drugs.
PennLive first reported Tuesday that complaints about the Taste of Sicily restaurant and Mason have been turned over to the state attorney general.
A statement from Lebanon County District Attorney Pier Hess Graf sent to the Reading Eagle on Thursday confirmed the office was made aware of the complaints and that they have been referred to the state attorney general.
Hess Graf’s statement read:
“On Monday, my Office received phone calls and emails which made various complaints against Taste of Sicily; the majority of those were done anonymously. We reached out to law enforcement and inquired if any additional complaints were made to individual police departments. Police indicated they received complaints, and a preliminary investigation showed allegations of misconduct which potentially spanned multiple counties. Our jurisdiction covers only Lebanon County. A referral to the attorney general’s office was already made by the police department itself. As a result, we did not take any further steps on the matter. The AG maintains statewide jurisdiction and thus is the appropriate entity to look into multiplecounty criminal allegations. I spoke with the AG’s Office on Tuesday; they are aware of the matter.”
Officials from the state attorney general’s office on Thursday said they “cannot confirm or deny our office’s involvement in this matter.”
On Thursday PennLive reported on Behr’s firing and connected her to Mason, saying she was the doctor providing prescriptions for ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine that Mason spoke about on social media.
The Reading Eagle could not independently verify that Behr is the doctor working with Mason or that she lives in Wyomissing.
According to a biography on the Tower Health website that has since been taken down, Behr was a general surgeon for Tower Health Medical Group Surgery, Pottstown. She was listed as being affiliated with Pottstown and Phoenixville hospitals.
Tower Health’s statement about Behr concludes by urging people to stay vigilant in the fight against COVID.
“Tower Health encourages all eligible individuals to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and to practice appropriate masking and social distancing,” it says. “These are the best options for discouraging the spread of the virus, and to minimize risk of serious illness, hospitalization, and death. We will continue to follow recommendations from the CDC and other health authorities in the treatment of the COVID-19 virus.”