December 17, 2014

Jamie S. Alley, Esq.

Board Attorney
West Virginia Board of Medicine
101 Dee Dr., Suite 103
Charleston, WV 25311
Dear Ms. Alley:
According to the board's website, Sydnee Smirl McElroy MD is currently licensed to practice medicine in your
state.
This is a complaint against Dr. McElroy's license re: possible malpractice and unethical conduct.
In order to properly evaluate my complaint, I'm requesting that the board:
A. Thoroughly review the online version of an article I published today on my blog, In popular iTunes
"comedy" podcast, Huntington, WV physician/professor & her husband mock the members of my family -including my late mother -- portraying us as "crazy weirdos"
B. Listen in its entirety to a November 25, 2014 Internet podcast hosted by Dr. McElroy entitled Sawbones:
The Heimlich maneuver.
Briefly, here's the basis of my complaint.
According to Local couple's online audio show gets tens of thousands of listeners by Dave Lavender
published January 20, 2014 by the Huntington (WV) Herald-Dispatch, each episode of Dr. McElroy's
program is downloaded (and therefore likely listened to) by 35,000-40,000 listeners.
To my knowledge, Dr. McElroy has no training in psychology or psychiatry and has never practiced in either
field.
Further, to my knowledge, she has never communicated with any of the members of my family.
Nevertheless, through almost half of her 30-minute program, Dr. McElroy listed the names of me and other
members of my family and falsely and maliciously portrayed us as crazy and as weirdos those were her
words.
Further, as Dr. McElroy made clear to her many thousands of listeners, in preparation for her program, she
intentionally searched for what she considered to be negative and denigrating information about members of
my family for the sole purpose of circulating those false and malicious characterizations.
Based on her credentials as a licensed board-certified family practice physician currently on faculty at
Huntington's Marshall University, listeners may reasonably construe her conclusions to be legitimate medical
diagnoses of mental illness.
As part of my complaint, I'm requesting that members of the board be asked to consider their reactions if Dr.
McElroy did the same to them and to members of their families.
Such conduct also raises other troubling questions.
If a medical doctor engages in such unethical and indiscreet behavior towards individuals with whom she has
had no contact, how is she conducting herself with patients in her care? Is she also making false, misguided
diagnoses of their physical and/or mental conditions? Is she violating their legal rights to privacy on her
Internet program or elsewhere?

In order to resolve those concerns, this is to respectfully request that the board schedule an interview in the
near future with Dr. McElroy so that she may address these and any other matters which the board deems
relevant.
This is also to respectfully request that the board determine if Dr. McElroy has violated any applicable laws
and/or rules for which your agency is responsible for overseeing, and that I be provided with a determination
of those and any other related findings.
Thank you for your attention to my concerns and I look forward to your reply.
Sincerely,

Peter M. Heimlich
3630 River Hollow Run
Peachtree Corners, GA 30096
ph: (208)474-7283
website: http://medfraud.info
blog: http://the-sidebar.com
e-mail: peter.heimlich@gmail.com

State of West Virginia

Board ofMedicine
101 Dee Drive, Suite 103

Charleston, WV 25311
Telephone 304.558.2921

AHMED DAVER FAHEEM, MD

PRESIDENT

R. CURTIS ARNOLD, DPM

VICE PRESIDENT

Fax 304.558.2084

www. wvbom. wv. gov

LETTTIA E. TIERNEY, MD, JD

ROBERT C. KNTTTLE

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

SECRETARY

December 18, 2014

Peter M. Heimlich
3630 River Hollow Run

Peachtree Corners, GA 30096

RE:

Sydnee Smirl McElroy, M.D.

Dear Mr. Heimlich:

The West Virginia Board of Medicine has reviewed in detail your Complaint
Questionnaire and attached documents regarding Sydnee Smirl McElroy, M.D.
The Board's Investigation and Complaints Section has evaluated the information
which you provided for potential violations of the West Virginia Medical Practice Act or the

Legislative rules promulgated pursuant to the Act. After this detailed evaluation, the Section

has determined that the evidence provided does not reflect an actionable violation of the Act
or the associated regulation.

The Board sincerely appreciates your reporting of this possible violation.

It is the

Board's practice to return original complaints which do not result in the pursuit of charges
against

physician.

Therefore,

the

Board

is

returning

Questionnaire and attachments to you.

Thank you again for your submission.

Sincerely,

Robert C. Knittle

RCK/kjd
Enclosures

your

original

Complaint