DES MOINES – A chiropractor who can’t seem to keep his hands of women’s breasts is being allowed to practice his craft once again after a state board approved reinstatement of his license.
Stuart Hoven of Winterset, Iowa, was licensed in Iowa in 2001 and opened Winterset Family Chiropractic in Winterset in December of that year.
On October 29, 2004, the Board filed its first Statement of Charges against Respondent. The charges alleged that Respondent made inappropriate contact and inappropriate comments of a sexual nature to two female patients. In a Decision and Order issued on April 27, 2005, the Board determined that Respondent had willfully and repeatedly touched the breasts of two female patients without a valid clinical reason for doing so and had made inappropriate comments to the two female patients about their breasts. The Board indefinitely suspended Respondent’s license to practice for repeated and willful departures from minimal standards of practice, for unethical conduct, and for practice harmful or detrimental to the public.
Hoven’s license was suspended and he was ordered to undergo an evaluation at a mental health center and to follow it guidelines before his license would be re-instated, which it was in 2005, subject to five years of probation and a number of conditions consistent with the recommendations made by the mental health center. In 2007, the Board of Chiropractic terminated a requirement that Hoven brign female chaperones into treatment rooms when a female patient was present.
On April 26, 2012, the Board filed a second Statement of Charges and an Emergency Adjudicative Order after a female patient reported that Respondent grabbed her breasts during an examination. The Board later amended the charges to include similar allegations made by a second female patient. On January 9, 2013, the Board issued its final Decision and Order finding that Respondent committed unethical conduct and practice harmful and detrimental to the public when he touched the breasts of two female patients. The Board ordered Respondent’s license to be suspended indefinitely and directed Respondent to submit to a comprehensive professional sexual misconduct assessment.
The Iowa Board of Chiropractic on September 16 stated “Respondent has accepted responsibility for his sexual misconduct and has expressed remorse, which the majority of the Board believes to be sincere.”
At the hearing, Hoven acknowledged that his misconduct has caused great harm to patients, their families, the communities involved, his own family and staff, and the chiropractic profession as a whole. Respondent further acknowledged that he was unfit to return to practice a year ago before completing the treatment program through Acumen. Respondent testified that he has spent the past year working on himself as a person, has matured emotionally, and has gained self-awareness and insight that he believes will enable him to practice chiropractic in a safe manner. Respondent is willing to abide by all of the monitoring requirements recommended by Acumen and by BMI and by any restrictions imposed by the Board.
The board then re-instated Hoven’s license, with a number of lengthy conditions, which include the requirement that female chaperones accompany Hoven whenever he sees a female patient; that he submit himself to lie detector tests, that he remain in intensive psychotherapy; he shall provide quarterly sworn written reports to the Board, and more. Hoven could lose his license if he fails to comply.
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