After two women's faces are seriously burned during laser treatments, a woman is charged with practicing medicine without a license.
By CHRIS TISCH
Published October 28, 2004
CLEARWATER - A Pinellas Park woman has been charged with two counts of practicing medicine without a license after she used a laser to treat skin conditions on two women's faces at a Clearwater cosmetics firm, but seriously burned them instead, authorities said.
Michelle N. Hedington, 28, was charged Tuesday with the two felonies. She was held at the Pinellas County Jail on Wednesday in lieu of $10,000 bail.
Florida Department of Health investigators say Hedington was working at Advanced Medical Cosmetic Institute, 3001 Eastland Blvd., earlier this year when she gave two women laser treatments, arrest affidavits state.
Both women told investigators they went to the business in March after reading a flier about the institute's laser treatment. One woman had acne, the other had sun damage on her face. Neither ever saw a doctor or other medical personnel, the affidavits state.
One of the women was Diane Lubrano, a 53-year-old Clearwater resident. She went to the clinic because of sun damage, but never saw a doctor. She said Hedington put prescription cream on her face and then used the laser.
"It was like a hot iron was put on my face," she said.
Lubrano reported the incident to state investigators and has since spent thousands of dollars to repair the damage. She still notices the burns, but doesn't know if scars will be permanent.
"I've spent thousands of dollars of treatment with a real doctor to save my face," she said.
She said the cream used on her face is to be used in dabs on sunspots or pre-cancerous skin. She said Hedington smeared a good bit of it all over her face, which caused the burning.
Investigators also interviewed a certified dermatologist who treated Lubrano for her injuries. That doctor told investigators that he had treated other people who had problems at the institute, but he couldn't say who they were because of federal regulations.
The institute's owner, Carol Belisle, told the Times on Wednesday that Hedington lied on her resume and said she was licensed to perform the procedure. She said the institute "ended our relationship with her" after they learned she was not licensed.
Belisle declined to say what kind of background check the institute performed on Hedington, when she was hired or how long she worked there. She said the institute has since done a review of all its employees and found they are all properly licensed.
"She falsely represented herself to the clinic," Belisle said. "It was not the fault of the clinic. It was something she did. It was discovered and we took care of it."
But an arrest affidavit indicates that a doctor affiliated with the business, Dr. J. Mark Zachary, told investigators that he had known Hedington wasn't trained to perform the procedure.
Zachary, a urologist whose office is in the same complex but not in the same office as Advanced Medical Cosmetic Institute, didn't examine either of the women, nor did he prescribe medication to them.
Zachary could not be reached for comment late Wednesday.
An affidavit stated that Belisle told investigators that Zachary is the clinic's director and orders the prescription medicine used in the business.
