State medical board revokes Monterey doctor’s license to practice
MONTEREY, Calif. (KION) A Monterey doctor with multiple convictions and accusations of negligence and failing to maintain accurate records has had her license revoked by the Medical Board of California.
The gynecologist, Dr. Mary Kay Brewster, had her license revoked on April 5.
Stalking and Vandalism Charges
KION first reported on Brewster in 2016 when she was convicted of stalking her estranged husband and the woman he was dating. It reportedly began after she and her husband separated after allegations of infidelity, and Brewster destroyed property in his workplace, sent harassing text messages, called him repeatedly, vandalized his car, poisoned his plants and physically assaulted him.
After that, investigators say she broke into his home and released rats and a ball python, knowing her husband had a phobia of snakes.
Monterey doctor sentenced for stalking estranged husband
The woman Brewster's husband was reportedly dating was a nurse at the same hospital as Brewster. Investigators say Brewster called her a derogatory name in front of patients, flicked bodily fluids on her in the operating room and created a difficult working environment.
After Monterey police got involved, the harassment stopped for a few months, but soon the victim noticed that she was missing some items, her plants were dying and her mailbox was vandalized with acid. She installed video cameras and caught Brewster carrying plant poison and crawling under her car at 4:30 a.m.
Brewster was sentenced to 180 days in jail and three years probation after she was found guilty of two counts of felony stalking, one count of felony vandalism and one count of trespassing.
Battery on Peace Officer and DUI
According to the Medical Board of California's public records, Brewster later pleaded no contest to one count of battery of a peace officer, one count of driving with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08% or higher with an enhancement for excessive blood alcohol of greater than 0.20% or higher and an enhancement for a prior vehicle code violation conviction within ten years.
The Medical Board documents say Monterey police responded to a report of a drunk driver on Highway 68 on April 17, 2020, and an officer conducted a traffic stop near Martin. The officer said there was a strong smell of alcohol, but Brewster denied drinking any alcohol.
When the officer asked her to get out of the vehicle, she reportedly refused and started screaming loudly. Eventually, the officer said she had to be removed by force and continued to scream at officers when she was handcuffed on the ground.
An officer asked her to submit to a test to determine her blood alcohol level, but she replied with expletives and shoved herself back into the officer's chest, hitting him with her right shoulder.
One of the officers drove her to the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula for a blood draw while another officer got a warrant, but she continued to scream and stomp her feet and needed to be forcibly removed from the patrol vehicle. As she was led into the hospital, Brewster reportedly kicked the officer in the thigh and needed to be placed in a wrap restraint.
A test of her blood sample showed that her blood alcohol level was 0.314%.
The Medical Board records and Monterey County Superior Court records show that she entered the plea on Aug. 20, 2020. She was sentenced to five years of conditional probation.
Accusations of Negligence
The Medical Board of California found that Brewster showed negligence when treating two of her patients.
The first was a 73-year-old woman, known as Patient 1. Documents show that the woman went to see Brewster for postmenopausal bleeding, and the doctor found during an ultrasound that her uterine lining was difficult to see due to fibroids and recommended dilation and curettage, hysteroscopy and endometrial ablation.
The patient underwent the procedure in July 2017 and there were no apparent complications, but the board says there is no documentation that Brewster discussed risks, benefits or alternatives, and the normal standard for care requires Brewster to first do sampling to rule out endometrial hyperplasia or cancer.
The other patient, Patient 2, was a 23-year-old whose baby died in the womb at 14-weeks. She was given misoprostol to induce a medical abortion at that time, but because it was not successful, Brewster decided to perform dilation and curettage.
The procedure was done in October 2017, but the Medical Board reports that Brewster was late arriving at the surgery center from her office. During the procedure, Brewster documented that the patient lost about 1,500 milliliters of blood. After the procedure, Brewster left for a meeting without discussing postoperative orders and was unavailable for nearly an hour after the procedure.
The Medical Board said standards of care call for the doctor to discuss discharge instructions and procedure findings with the patients, communicate with nursing staff, assess blood loss and follow the patient postoperatively.
Brewster also reportedly did not maintain "adequate and accurate records" about the care and treatment of the two patients listed above.
In addition to negligence and criminal convictions, Brewster is accused of using alcohol in a dangerous manner, unprofessional conduct, failing to cooperate in a board investigation and failure to comply with probation.
Read the full document outlining the reasons for her license revocation below.
