Idaho OBGYN suspended after video of ‘inappropriate’ comments about patients
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Mia Maldonado, Idaho Statesman
NAMPA (Idaho Statesman) — An Idaho gynecologist was suspended by her Treasure Valley employer Friday after a video that circulated online showed her at a bar insulting her patients in a profanity-laced tirade.
OGA, a women’s health center with multiple locations, said it has suspended obstetrics and gynecology specialist Dr. Rachel K. Oliver while it conducts an investigation.
“We are aware of the video circulating of Dr. Oliver behaving in a manner that does not align with, or reflect, our values,” the OGA website reads. “… We do not condone, or agree with, any of these hurtful and inappropriate statements and apologize to our patients and community for any suffering this has caused.”
In videos posted on TikTok and Facebook, Oliver is seen insulting her patients and threatening to punch the woman next to her.
“They’re (expletive) stupid and fat, and I take care of them,” she says in the video.
Our pregnant and Hispanic patients deserve better. Idaho deserves better. pic.twitter.com/NYsSFNDG1e
— Savannah • PharmD, IBCLC (she/her/hers) (@rx0rcist) February 10, 2023
According to her biography on the OGA website, Oliver works primarily at the Nampa location.
Oliver was raised by missionary parents and spent parts of her childhood in Mexico, her bio says. She is a fluent Spanish speaker and went to medical school at the Autonomous University of Guadalajara in Mexico, according to her LinkedIn page.
Nicole Bradshaw, executive director at OGA, told the Statesman in a phone interview that Oliver is one of three doctors at the practice who speaks Spanish. Bradshaw said the Nampa location receives a large amount of Spanish-speaking patients and other non-English-speaking patients.
“She’s very aware and a proponent of Hispanic culture,” Bradshaw said. “She’s a good person. You know, it’s just a bad thing that’s happened. It’s not representative of OGA, and we have taken it seriously and have taken action against it to move forward.”
Many people on social media called out Oliver’s comments. Data from the Idaho Commission of Hispanic Affairs showed that in 2019, Canyon County had the most Hispanic residents in the state. According to the U.S. Census, approximately 25% of Nampa residents identify as Hispanic or Latino.
“I’m shocked,” one woman commented on Facebook. “This is my ob and she’s always been so caring. Makes me wonder how she really felt about me.”
Oliver is also listed as a private partner under the St. Luke’s Health System and has delivered babies at St. Luke’s Meridian and St. Luke’s Nampa, according to the hospital’s website. St. Luke’s spokesperson Christine Myron told the Idaho Statesman in an email that Oliver is not a St. Luke’s-employed physician and is not practicing in any of the hospitals’ facilities at this time.