Bluebell Road Health Plaza in Cedar Falls, where a physician assistant is alleged to have sexually assaulted multiple patients. (Photo via Google Earth)
The state of Iowa has issued an emergency order suspending the license of a physician assistant alleged to have sexually assaulted multiple patients.
The Iowa Board of Physician Assistants alleges that James Haag, while practicing occupational medicine at MercyOne’s Bluebell Road Family Medicine in Cedar Falls, performed job-related physicals for individuals who worked at a local business.
The board alleges that in July 2024, Haag examined four patients for purposes of their employment. In each case, the patients were allegedly instructed to disrobe and Haag conducted the examinations without the presence of a nurse or other observer.
During the course of each examination, the board alleges, Haag removed each patient’s robe and “made physical contact” with the patients’ genitals. In some instances, the board alleges, he used his hands, while in others he “pressed his fully clothed pelvic area into the patient’s genitals or backside.”
The board alleges Haag also made “inappropriate contact with multiple patients’ breasts” during the course of their examinations. “In multiple instances, where the patients attempted to cover themselves, (Haag) swatted their hands away,” the board alleges.
Haag is charged with knowingly engaging in unethical conduct or a practice harmful or detrimental to the public, and with willful or repeated violations of state regulations.
On Dec. 19, the board issued an emergency order suspending Haag’s license for an indefinite period, citing “predatory actions towards his patients (that) constitute a threat to public health.”
In its order, the board alleges Haag “sexually assaulted multiple patients in his care” and that he “poses an immediate danger to the public health, safety and welfare.”
A hearing in the matter is scheduled for Feb. 7, 2025. The Iowa Capital Dispatch was unable to reach Haag for comment.
Board records indicate Haag was first licensed by the state in September 1993.