Ronald J. Heromin, M.D. & Tampa Bay Wellness Centre
I’m not exactly sure when it happened, but in the last few months a new pain management clinic was opened in the strip mall behind our house called Tampa Bay Wellness Centre. For two and a half years, we’ve had no problems with the strip mall that is just over our fence. But in the last few months, that has changed.
On January 31st, a Saturday, Debi and I woke up to the sounds of chainsaws. I didn’t immediately realize from where the sound was coming, but soon realized that someone was cutting down all of the trees on the other side of our fence by the strip mall. No one had approached us about doing this. What’s more, the previous owner of the house who put in our fence, didn’t actually put the fence on our property line, but instead put the fence about 2 to 3 feet away from our property line because he didn’t want to cut down those trees. Ergo, the trees they were cutting down were actually at least partially our trees, on our property. I went out, stuck my head over the fence, and got the attention of the woman who was cutting down the trees. I mentioned to her that the trees were on my property, which immediately gave her pause. She was hired to cut them down and was told that they were on the property of the owner of the strip mall. She immediately went to talk to the person who had hired her to let him know that this was sketchy. He and another business owner then came around to my place where I was out talking with my neighbor, to apologize and try to smooth things over. A little late – the trees were already cut down!
Over the last month, with the trees gone, we’ve had several instances where people have been walking around in the alley behind the strip mall at 11:00 pm talking loudly or yelling. I went out there a couple of weeks ago after a guy had been talking loudly for over an hour at 11:00 pm and popped my head over our fence. I don’t know who he was, but he didn’t wait around – he dropped his phone and ran.
One other time over the past week there have been people talking loudly in the alley at night. But last night, at 11:00 pm, it was really getting on my nerves. Then a car alarm went off, waking up Toren. I’d had enough. I went into our backyard to see what was going on, but by that time no one was back there, despite there still being 6 or 7 cars in the alley. So I decided I’d walk around to the front of the strip mall to see what was going on.
I’m probably too naive to realize that this was very risky, but I was pissed. As I walked around the corner to the strip mall and started to head down the sidewalk, I started noticing a group of people hanging out in front of the Tampa Bay Wellness Centre. As I got closer, I realized these people were not really the kind of people I’d want to run into late at night – they were wearing tattered clothing, looked unkempt, looked to be in relatively poor health, had various scars, and looked, well, mean. Having no experience with drug dealers, I can’t say for certain that’s what they looked like, but that was the initial impression I received – white, scummy, drug dealers. There were about 6 or 7 of them standing in front of the Tampa Bay Wellness Centre. When I got to the door of this “clinic”, I started to ask the people sitting around outside if it was open, but then one of them opened the door and walked in, so I followed him. Inside, at 11:00pm on a Friday night, there were at least another 15 to 20 people sitting around a makeshift clinic, watching TV. They looked just like the people outside.
Cut into one wall was a window where I assumed the staff were. I waited while the guy who entered before me asked if he was up yet. Then it was my turn. In the little, unfinished, and really scary looking office, there were three people I could see – a young woman, a young man, and Gloria, a middle-aged woman. I started right in on them, complaining about the noise and wanting to know what was going on. Gloria was the one who piped up and denied that it was them, claiming that they didn’t let anyone back in the alley. BS! I mentioned the car alarm and told them I have an 8-month old son. She apologized, then said that they were going to be leaving in a week. When I asked why, the young man said, “Does it matter? You don’t want us to leave?” To which I responded, “No, you leaving would be great, but it just looks funny for you to set up shop for a month or two then leave.” Anyway, I ended up getting the card of the Doctor who supposedly runs the clinic and Gloria’s name, then warned her that I would start phoning in noise complaints to the police every time I heard them from now on. At this, one of the patrons said, “If you have a problem with this place, you can go talk to the police officer who is watching it from his cruiser in the parking lot over.” I told him I just might.
I walked out to glares from some of the patrons, then headed back the way I came. I did notice as I walked that there was a Tampa Police cruiser in the parking lot opposite the clinic as the patron said, so I went over to the cruiser to see what was going on. I think he was a bit wary at first, but when I introduced myself and explained what I was doing, he relaxed and we started to chat. He was, in fact, observing this “clinic” because the police are fairly confident that what is happening is that the doctor is simply writing whatever patients walk in prescriptions for narcotics and painkillers. My neighbor and I had guessed this was what was happening, but to hear the police confirm that it was the suspicion was surprising, especially because the officer said there was nothing they could do at this point. That annoyed me because the local police recently busted a bunch of people in the Tampa area doing just this. As we talked, the officer was amazed to hear that I had gone into the clinic. He was also amazed that it was open at 11:00pm on a Friday night. He kept saying, “I don’t know of any doctor’s offices that are open that late at night.” Anyway, the officer was nice and did confirm that I could call in noise complaints after 11:00 whenever they occurred. So, I’ll be doing that.
But I also decided to look into things a bit more this morning. Here’s what my internet sleuthing has discovered:
Ronald J. Heromin
Ronald J. Heromin is the doctor who is running the Tampa Bay Wellness Centre. He is licensed in Florida. However, he was been disciplined by the Florida Board of Medicine, on April 4, 2009, for beginning to operate on a patient’s wrong leg. (You can see a copy of the discipline decision here as well.) Unfortunately that only ended in a $5,000 fine. Dr. Heromin has also recently filed for bankruptcy with close to $150,000 in debt. This sounds like the perfect recipe for a doctor to start slumming it, doling out prescriptions for narcotics. I, of course, cannot say that Dr. Heromin is doing that, but his clinic is certainly sketchy. The clientèle were sketchy. And staying open late at night on a Friday doling out prescriptions in a clinic that, from my quick purview, doesn’t even have a room to see patients seems really, really sketchy. So, I don’t know what Dr. Heromin is doing, but it’s not above reproach.
Because I don’t want to keep the card I took that night any longer, I’m posting all of the information it included here:
Tampa Bay Wellness Centre
Office of Ronald J. Heromin, M.D.
1943 W. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Tampa, FL 33607
Phone: (813) 374-8950
Fax: (813) 374-8949
Ettinberg Properties, LLC & Haim Goldenberg
The owner of the strip mall where Tampa Bay Wellness Centre is located is Haim Goldenberg, the registered agent of Ettinberg Properties, LLC. Here’s the property tax information on the property, which says it is worth $1.4 million. And here’s the corporate information on Ettinberg Properties, LLC. Apparently he’s living quite well – here’s a picture of his home courtesy of Google Maps. It’s 2009 market value is $688,764.00. He’s also the registered agent of Universal Auto Leasing Inc. at 8542 N Dale Mabry Hwy, Tampa, FL 33614, which looks like some strange car rental or leasing location. I’d laugh if this also happens to be Haim Goldenberg, the famed Israeli mentalist, but I doubt it.
@Let the Voice of Reason Be Heard!!
“Let the Voice… blah blah” (choose a shorter name!)
I banned him because he attacked two people, calling them liars and then saying very mean things to and about them. One of those people, Angry Parent, has just had a traumatic experience and doesn’t need to hear that at the moment. If “Leave the Good Dr. Alone” had been nice and civil in his responses, I wouldn’t have banned him. But he wasn’t. He was mean. Ergo, banned.
And, yes, I used to let people be jerks on here, but that’s precisely why I cut off the comments and then made the note I did that I will ban people if they don’t behave civilly.
So, let me restate my new policy: You are welcome to disagree with me and to say anything you want about Dr. Heromin and Tampa Bay Wellness. But say it civilly and avoid name calling or you will be banned. Clear enough?
One more point on me banning “Leave the Good Dr. Alone.” You claim what he said is “true.” “Truth” is often in the eye of the beholder. I have quite a bit of evidence to suggest that what he said is not true. Don’t try to tell me what is or isn’t TRUE about the claims being made here; clearly there are two sides. And what “Leave the Good Dr. Alone” said wasn’t about clarifying the “truth” but rather attacking people. Ergo, banned.
As for what I’m trying to accomplish… Here’s the funny thing. I wrote my original blog post because I was pissed about my son being woken up and my trees being cut down. That’s primarily it. I’m not happy about the new clientele wandering around my neighborhood, either, but so be it. What it sounds like you’re telling me to do now is to delete this post from my blog because, um, you want me to. FYI, blogs are basically online journals. I’m leaving it up because it is an event that happened to me. I’m not organizing protests. I’m not organizing anything. I wrote a blog post and now I’m allowing people to come comment on it, both for and against, so long as they are civil about it. You really want me to just delete a part of my history because you don’t like it? Um, yeah, not going to happen. This post is staying up forever. It’s my life. It happened to me. All I’m doing is making an event in my life public. If that event happens to paint Dr. Heromin negatively, well, too bad. I’ve been more than kind in letting people who disagree with me comment in response. Those people have belittled me, attacked me, and are now threatening to protest me (um, not sure what you’d protest – free speech????). All because I wrote up an event that happened to me and put it on the internet. If you have a problem with free speech, maybe you need to move to another country – Iran and China both censor the internet.
ryan, you failed to tell everyone how you got your new fence.
@hmmm
I don’t have a new fence. My old fence was partially moved in a slipshod fashion by someone who clearly doesn’t know how to put up fences. That person was hired by VIP Pharmacy’s owner, who is trying to avoid being sued for cutting down my trees. I’m paying a professional to come fix it because right now it looks terrible. I’m then going to pass the $500 bill for fence repairs on to the owner of VIP Pharmacy. I’m also trying to find trees to replace the ones they cut down without asking me and without a permit. Once I find some, purchase them, and plant them, I’ll also pass that bill onto VIP Pharmacy, as they said they would pay for that. Hopefully they will. If they do, they will avoid being sued for having illegally cut down my trees. They will have righted a wrong and I will be satisfied. But that hasn’t happened yet as it’s taken me months to get estimates to repair my fence, that used to look great but that now looks awful!
Wow! First let me say Ryan you have to me the calmest person I have seen lately. To deal with what is clear to be “altered mental status” patients of Dr. Heromin. Also to correct my statement “You Can’t be Serious” earlier on the list, No, Dr. Heromin did not put a gun to my sons head to make him take the pills. However, “You Can’t be serious” you must have missed somewhere in your PHD class that the MRI’s ordered by Dr. Heromin are ordered through a facility who this “Ever so Straight & Narrow” Dr. Heromin has a hand in the pot also. So for all you Employees and Addicts of Dr. Heromin GET A GRIP. For all those patients who are truly in pain and need help, God Bless you and I hope your pain is eased soon. Also in response to the non-educated “Done With Stupid People” and get this one “Big Daddy Lo” (wow ghetto) listen up- One go to school get an education on the English Language and then try to have a conversation on a public blog. Two- Slander look it up- Bullying Look that up also. Wait you might not know how to use a dictionary (I’, just simply going off the education level of your post) here are the definitions.
Slander- the act or offense of saying something false or malicious that damages somebody’s reputation.
Bullying- the process of intimidating or mistreating somebody weaker or in a more vulnerable situation.
Assault- a violent physical or verbal attack. Did you know you do not have to touch someone to be charged with assault? Your post above is a perfect example on this.
Threat of Bodily Harm- an unlawful threat or attempt to do violence or harm to somebody else.
So get your facts straight and your education under way before you feel the need to complete ALL the acts above. Ryan I personally would in fact press charges since you do have a family and these people need to learn their place in this world. And by the way in case you don’t know where your place is… Look in your own back yard before you start running your mouth.
It’s sad to think that there are people out there that do need help and it’s the doctors like Dr. Heromin that actually do more harm than good.
First let me say to the person who lost their child I’m truly very sorry for your loss and hope that your family is making it through this tuff time I feel for you ! My daughter is 14 and she lost her mother to herion 2 years ago may 18 so I know what it is like to lose someone to a sickness let’s. Not forget being a junkie,addict etc is a diseas and its not always cut and dry help is hard to come by. As for my name it was given to me by my 4 kids (5,15,14,17). It was actually a joke u know were laughing with u not at u but for some reason it just stuck. as for an education I have been bleesed with street smarts (can survive any where),common sense and can surly use a dictionary. For your loss I suggest grief counseling it has helped us a great deal with our loss. Yes I am a patient and yes my shoulder is blown out and no I don’t have insurance every one here is so smart u give me another option ? surgery who’s paying? If any one feels as if I threatened them feel free to press what ever charges u like good luck . but don’t label me a junkie,addict or call me dirty and expect me not to respond! And that is slandering because none of it is true. I work hard to take of my kids and my wiffie !!
@ Big Daddy Lo- I as well am sorry for your troubles. I am sorry for the comment on your name. No excuse. I am frustrated with the PILL POPPERS, as I am sure you are. Good Luck to you and your family. My Son did survive, however he is paying his price for the law. God Help all who are in need.
I have my whole appointment with this dr on video where there are 5 of us in a room. You all need to see this. Do you mind if I post it on here? If not can I post the video elsewhere and put the link on here?
gatorfan25,
If you can post the video online somewhere (e.g., youtube or vimeo) then send me the link, I’ll get it up here on the blog.
Best,
Ryan
Gatorfan25- I can’t wait to see this video. Ryan I found his new locations during the day and off. I will be scoping this crap out tonight.
@Angry
Dr. Ronald Heromin is a great man and has done wonderful thing for his community. I beileve you have the wrong man…..this man is a very out going and honest, person….. You have bashed him enough. When none of this had anything to do with him. He is just a Doctor trying to do his wonderful job for his patitents……the person u should be bashing is the the owner of the facility. Mark the owner….. who is a dirt bag and runs clients through his office like cattle heard. Dr. Heromin doesnt even work for that establisbhment anymore and wants nothing to do with that facility. He replaced my hip and my knee and I went from crippled to being able to walk again. Not just walk, I can run and do things I’ve never done before. Thanks to him.I am begging you to please stop bashing him, and give him the respect that he deserves…….. The only thing you you know of him is that you got his business card from an office of people who were cutting down your tress….
If you have any questions or comments on this wonderful man who has saved my life. Before you place a blog on the web, please THINK ABOUT THE PERSONS,LIFE YOU ARE RUINING……….. This man has done nothing to anyone and would actually HELP you if you were in need…………………………………\
I heard there is suppost to be a news storey today on Tampa bay wellness centre on Martin luther king does any one no about that.
@Joey Thompson
please email me at kaylamay0907@yahoo.com i need to know where he currently is my husband is driving 24 hours away to see him and we have no idea where he is located. thank u
@TINKERBELL
what is the news the story will be on
@w
You can see the news story here:
http://www.ryananddebi.com/2010/05/11/in-the-news/
I happened accross this blog quite randomly but quickly became very interested in the comments and veiwpoints expressed here. I’ve little experience with the main topic at hand, (the doctors’ legitimacy and ethics behind the contraversial pain clinics, etc) but for the owner of this blog and his family, the area in which your home is located isn’t exactly Mr. Rodgers neighborhood to begin with. It seems to me your poor choice in home location is the real issue, for you anyway. A poor choice to raise children definately with it being near such busy commercial zones. I live in the country and for a very short time I moved out and into a place where I quickly realized I shouldn’t be raising my children. So I moved back into the country. You may be happier moving to a better neighborhood if in fact the reasons for your blog are because of your trees, and noises, etc. But a little part of me sees that you just enjoy the attention and the picking at of others around you. If you have no experience with this dr or the issues behind pain clinics, you have no right to judge. Trust me, I felt the same way just a short time ago. Recently my veiws of the situation have changed due to dramatic incidents in and around my life and family. In a perfect world there would be no chemical dependancy on anything, but alas that will never be the case.
@lost at 28
So, lost at 28, let me get this straight. What you’re saying is, “There are some places where it’s okay to distribute drugs to addicts and others where it is not. In the country, where “lost at 28″ lives, it’s not. In the city, where Ryan lives, it is.”
Do you realize how ridiculous that sounds? For people who have a moral compass, the correct response would be: There is no location where distributing drugs to addicts is okay.
To whit, my neighborhood is a decent neighborhood. I’ve never said it’s Bayshore Boulevard. But it’s quiet, with low-crime rates, and populated by working-class to middle-class people. You’re telling me that I’ve given up my right to make my neighborhood a nice place to live because I don’t live where you do? You know what my answer to that is? Screw you and screw your elitist, narcissistic, self-righteous, immoral view of the world! It’s attitudes like yours that lead to racial and class segregation and suburban sprawl and pollution.
I live in the city so I don’t have to commute for hours to work. I live in the city because I like having neighbors nearby, including neighbors who are: black, Hispanic, Asian, white, etc. I live in the city because I like it, not because I want a drug dealer living behind my house. In fact, I live in the city because I like the background noise of traffic. What I don’t like are people cutting down MY TREES! What I don’t like are scummy doctors giving out drugs willy nilly to drug addicts. And just because I live in a city where that is happening doesn’t mean I have to accept those things. I refuse to. And you telling me I have to because of where I live just pisses me off and makes me want to shut them down even more.
You need to develop a moral compass, lost at 28, ’cause you’re flat out wrong about me having to put up with this kind of activity in my neighborhood.
wow! I tried very hard to come across in a so-called “nice” manner, and I get attacked! For someone who decides free speech and expression is reasoning enough for your blog or statements to be plastered on the internet you sure leave no room for anyone elses’ veiwpoints. Its ok for you and those who pat you on the back but not for those who may look at things differently. Well I got it now- so anyone who dissagrees with RYAN here need not write a comment because your veiws (ie mine) are not welcome.
And actually- yes I am glad I live where no “other” people live, I live here because like-minded people live around me. I don’t want to live amungst disrespectful, loud, obnoxius people who beleive “we” owe “them” ……..need I go further? Point is: city is city, you are not going to change anything, so if you don’t like it move. That’s all I was saying.
Pain clinics? I don’t know enough to comment. Neither do you.
Disney?? OMG!!! It’s geared towards small children to relate to, you think my 6 year old recognizes what enginearing is??? NO they recognize clothes, facial features, and food as ways to discern between themselves and someone who is diffferent. If they made the ride for 30 something jerks like you they may change it, but your purpose is to ride the ride watch your child smile and enjoy the time spent with him/her. You sure do veiw the world negativly don’t you? Do you enjoy anything in life besides of course being the center of attention- you didn’t get loved enough as a child did you? Have to feel big and important…..I bet you got bullied when you were in school. Well stop turning that anger out on everyone else and do some soul searching. This type of behavior isn’t going to make you feel warm and fuzzy inside. I’m almost afraid to ask- but strangly interested in the answer-what are your veiws on religion? Christianity? this should be interesting…..
@lost at 28
“And actually- yes I am glad I live where no “other” people live, I live here because like-minded people live around me. I don’t want to live amungst disrespectful, loud, obnoxius people who beleive “we” owe “them” ……..need I go further?”
Nope, you don’t need to go further. Your position is clear – you’re a racist and a bigot. I don’t respect racists and bigots and, based on your previous comment, am not at all surprised by this. Ergo, no need to take this discussion further – racists and bigots will receive no respect on my blog.
btw- I can’t spell and I’m not considering myself an intellectual- so my apologies for grammar and spelling and such. You know what they say about us country folk……
If you had the expeiriances Ive had you’d feel differently: I almost left my husband before marrying him because of his veiws- I felt like you, but things happened that changed my OPINION,,,, which everyone has a right to, don’t they?
Lost at 28… Basically what you’re saying is that you are a “justified racist.” I’m guessing most racists think they are. But it doesn’t change the fact that you are judging an entire segment of the human species on the color of their skin and not on the quality of their character. That is nothing to be proud of and not justifiable. There is no such thing as a justified racist, just bigots.
FYI, I was nearly mugged by some blacks while living in Costa Rica. As a result, I could hold negative views towards blacks. But I didn’t let one experience with blacks taint my view toward all blacks. I’ve known lots of black people since then who are really, really great people.
I was nearly shot and run over by Hispanics while living in Costa Rica. I even had my house robbed by Hispanics in Costa Rica. I could hold that against all Hispanics and hate them for it. But I don’t. I know lots of Hispanics who are great people.
Oh, and I know lots of whites who are total jerks. I guess I could hate my own race because I’ve had bad experiences with whites. Or I could not be a bigot and judge entire groups of people based on my experiences with members of those groups. That is the far more sensible thing to do.
Oh, and everyone is welcome to an opinion, but some opinions are horrific and those who hold them should be ashamed. You’re welcome to be a racist, but that’s a terrible, terrible thing to be.
Ryan,
FYI he is now working out of a place called Bayside Pain and Wellness Center located on Memorial Highway in the New 3 story building located on the opposite side of the strip mall.
Should have seen that place last Friday.
Sorry I think I was speaking of his alternate location.
Looks like the people who own the clinic are expanding. They have a new location:
Tampa Total Health
3825 West Sligh Ave.
Tampa, FL 33614
It is easy to comment about how the office looked like on Friday. Like any new business it goes through its growing pains. Before you bash him and his office, answer me this. where you treated with respect? Was the staff courteous to you?
It is easy to point out all the bad things one sees when looking at a business but most people don’t see the good things that the business provides. Try working in an office like his and let’s see how long you last. It takes a lot of conviction and strength to run a clinic and i don’t think you have any inkling of what you are talking about. Walk a day in my shoes an let’s see how well you do!!
@Bob a Bowie
The clinic located on Memorial is no longer taking walk in patients. Since this occurred it has been quiet. According to the Dept of Health this location is his main office.
I can not beleive that these clinics are allowed to operate. They should be regulated much better. Maybe only be allowed to operate out of a hospital. I do feel sorry for people who have legitimate issues and trully need help.
If you have any questions about his new office, why don’t you go in and ask questions? The staff there has been very nice to me and they explained in detail what is going on in the office. You seem hell bent on bashing this doctor and that is not fair. What makes you an expert on these types of clinics and how they should be run? If you really want to have a say in how things are done, I suggest you run for the governorship of Florida!!
Until then, give the guy a break. If these clinics are as bad as you suggest, then you issue is not really with Dr. Heromin but with the Dept. of Health.
Ryan,
I understand how you feel about this situation and I just want to give you some information I acquired. The clinic behind your home is not owned by Doctor Heromin –it never was — it is owned by the man who owns the pharmacy next door to the clinic. Dr. Heromin was only the attending physician!! As in any medical practice, the doctor relies on his office staff to weed out the patients that do not have the necessary paperwork to make them legitimate patients. If the doctor is given false information, or information that has been tampered with, how is he going to know?? He is only 1 man with a lot of patients to care for.
My other point is that, now that Dr. Heromin is no longer there, the clinic still has a lot of undesirables around and in it. That shows that the situation was not due to the doctor in question but is the fault of the people who own the clinic. Go to his new office, talk to him and then you will have a better understanding of this whole issue. I am not saying you are going to feel different but you will come to realize that he is not an enemy and that he id doing his best to help people who actually are in need.
God Bless you and your family during these hard times!!
@Anonymous
A number of people have said that Dr. Heromin is a nice guy. Maybe that’s true. But I don’t believe for a second that he had no idea what he was doing when he signed up for the job. He may be a nice guy, but he was willing to work for this sleazy group of people when he needed money. Nice guy? Maybe. Ethical guy? Highly unlikely (in my opinion)!
And, yes, I get the point… You all want me to take my website with his name down now that he’s no longer there. Dr. Heromin did what he did. Perhaps this will remind him not to do it again.
I am not asking you to take down your website. I just think that you have chosen the doctor as the object of your anger. He was not the only one in the clinic!! Have you approached anyone in the clinic about all the people in the parking lot, since the doctor has left??
I have been working in the Healthcare industry for 20 years now and I can tell you–doctors might be the ones to write the scripts but they cannot control what the patients do with them. If patients are doing or selling drugs on the clinic grounds or in your alleyway, approach them. The doctor of the clinic, whoever he or she may be, cannot watch the patients 24 hours a day to make sure they are taking their medications as they should. The patients have a certain responsibility for themselves and I agree with you that they should be held accountable!!
@Anonymous
So you’re saying Dr. Heromin has no responsibility to be careful in handing out prescription drugs? That’s crazy talk! If that’s the case, why have medical doctors at all? I’ll just prescribe myself drugs!
While I’ve never actually met Dr. Heromin, I’ve had a number of people tell me that his prescriptions are for thousands of pills. That seems a bit excessive to me.
Finally, if you’d like me to comment about the other people involved in this operation, I’d be happy to do so. But no one is giving me names and the people running the place have done a pretty good job hiding their identities. If you know who is running this thing, please, post their names. I’ll dig into them.
Ok…. For those who are on here TRYING to paint a rainbow of a picture for RONALD HEROMIN (I refuse to call him a doctor) GET A GRIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This no good drug dealing piece of crap had the balls to say “We’ve been made, so we have to move.” Ok Get a grip people!!!! This piece of crap is a drug dealer and a murderer!!! That’s right you read the black and white correctly! A MURDERER. Anyone who prescribes the amount of meds that this looser does, to a patient that HE referred to his “Friend” for an MRI (which is not a certified radiologist in anyway) and “Tweaks” the diagnosis if a murderer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Heromin is a PERSON a LOW LIFE who prays on the weak. The mobile MRI unit in his parking lot is not certified or licensed for anything…… So all you “People” who want to “Protect” him why don’t you make your deal with the devil now- Because all “Those” kind of people will go to hell!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have already taken this case to all levels of all State and Federal. To include but not limited to the FBI(Because its crossed State Lines) DEA, Atty Gen, The Lt. Gov, The Gov. and all local Police Departments. As well as the Federal Abuse Organizations. The FDLE, The ME, and I am still currently working on more. Watch out here I come!!!
Okay, I did a little digging. It looks like Louis Fernandez is the owner of Superior Injury Center, LLC, which, as of February 16, 2010, was doing business at 1943 W Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, which is where Tampa Bay Wellness Center was located. So it looks like Superior Injury Center, LLC is the holding company for Tampa Bay Wellness Center. I guess what that means is that Dr. Heromin has no moral compass for working there and Louis Fernandez is the one profiting from the business.
I went to this doctor for a while and never did I receive a large number of meds like you are speaking of there is a much larger problem than one doc or one office. uncle sam is the biggest drug dealer of all . Are country is run by pharmaceutical companies has been for years every govt officials who campaign takes money from these companies. Florida is making a lot of money from these clinics and there patients ,
fast food,hotels,gas stations,airports,rental cars,grocery stores etc. How much taxes does florida collect from all these clinics and doctors has to be billions then what about all the jails and prisons they fill that’s business to , all I’m saying is this sounds like ol jeb and his cohorts who were in office during all this might be a better scape goat . This is all about money for florida , uncle sam , drug companies and anyone else who can get there hand in !
I am not saying that doctors do not have a responsibility to their patients but they cannot be accused of what the patients do with their prescriptions. Each patient has a mind of their own and are going to do what they want with their scripts. As for the number of pills allowed by law, the legal amount is 300 or less a month unless there are extenuating circumstances. I have seen other doctors in Tampa prescribe more than that to their patients. While I was at an interview a few months ago, I saw a girl receive 540 pills from her general practicioner!!!
That was just for one month. Other doctors prescribe the same amount that Dr. Heromin does and they are not being condemned for it.
As for Angry’s comment about the doctor being a Murderer, I can’t agree with that. Nobody is forcing these people to take these drugs. Doctors do not stand out on street corners pushing drugs on people. These people are coming in on their own because they want to.
I also agree that this should be reported to the authorities but if that is what you want to do, don’t go after just one doctor. Petition for stricter rules and guidelines. I am not saying that there are not bad doctors out there but to single this doctor out like that is unfair. There are hundreds of clinics in Tampa that you could scrutinize like you are doing–not just this one doctor. Even if he was to stop practicing medicine, this problem would not go away. !!
As for Angry saying that Dr. Heromin is not a doctor, all I can say is this. Whether he is a good doctor or not, he did complete his schooling and earned his degree. Until you can boast the same, you have no foot to stand on. He earned his appellation as DOCTOR and your slandering his title is nothing more than envy and ignorance!! As far as the mobile MRI trailer, that does not belong to Dr. Heromin. That trailer belongs to Louis Fernandez and his partners. If you do not have accurate information then you need to stay quiet until you do(that was meant for Angry!!)
Ryan, as for the names of the owners of the Tampa Wellness Clinic, I will ask around. Anything I find out I will forward to you.
Ryan,
I would love to talk to you but not on such an open site. Is there a way i can contact you that will be more private???
The legal limit for a doctor to prescribe monthly for oxycodone is 300 or less. Any doctor who prescribes more than that is put on a “watch list” by the DEA. The real problem is not the doctors–it is the drug companies. They produce and push pills that they know are addictive but these companies are not being pushed to produce a medicine that has the desired effect without the addiction. If you think the doctors are making money, then you have no idea how much money these drug companies are making!!
Just about everyone angry named has taken drug money in one way or another which is a shame but its the truth, they are all profiting from this why people are losing and there only answer is jail everyone the docs, the. Clinic owners,addicts any one but the people who really passed the laws that allow all this to happen that just dosnt go over well with me hold the person that wrote a law that allows a doc to write a scrip for a thousand pills that is where the problem started in the senate,congress and govt offices and now the little guy is taking all the heat!
@Anonymous
You can email me: ryantcragun -at- gmail.com
The clinic moved into the office building where I work several months ago. They lasted one week before being evicted. We had people standing in the hallways, in the stairwells, outside the building… Smoking in the building. The people that came to the clinic in general looked homeless. They were dirty, smelly, used foul language and stayed from morning till evening! In less than one day, a building that I previously felt safe in, became a very scary place to work. We were extremely happy when they moved. I cannot imagine having to live next door to this group. For all of those that state the innocent of the physician, just remember it is his name that goes on the scripts of the patients. No matter who owns the clinic, the doctor is the one who is responsible for the patients.
Here is the latest:
http://beta2.tbo.com/news/breaking-news/2010/may/20/tampa-police-dea-raiding-pain-management-clinic-ar-41565/
YEEEEEAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!! What a wonderful day!!!!! I hope this little blog some how helped in this!
I just lost my 55yr brother from an overdose of all the pills that were prescribed to him!
When he told me he got 360 oxycodone,percocet,and xanax at a time, I told him there was no way in hell a real Dr would prescribe that many at a time, from what I’m told after his death, he paid $300 to get the RX’s without being seen by the Dr. I found all of his notes on this clinic in his breifcase after he died! As far as I’m concerned, those kind of backdoor Dr’s are murderers, they took my brother away from his 1yr old baby!
What are they gonna do for him? Or do they not care? The only ones I find that say they’re nice guys are the ones getting the drugs! I have been in healhcare myself, I’m not stupid to all of it! Something has to be done! I’m the one who had to tell his mother,brothers and sister he was gone! We have a hole in our family thanks to them!
I am inspired by your hard work. It may be a small victory but a victory none the less. I live with pain everyday and visited this office on recommendation and proximity to my home. I didn’t get through the door before I knew this place wasn’t for me. Something was wrong with that place. I walked out. I have read many posts that swear by this place. To them I say “shame on you”. If you have ever been to a MD office before than you know that’s not how a MD office is ran. There are no innocent people involved here. The MD, his staff, and these so called patients. I am embarrassed to tell people that I take pain medication at night so I can get a good night sleep being absent of pain for a bit because of the looks I get. I blame that on places like this and people who take advantage of it. It is a form of legal drug dealing. If you are in pain and do need help do it the right way please. And before you say that place was the right way and I don’t know anything, please don’t. You don’t have to be Lieutenant Horatio Caine to figure out that place is a pill mill filled with pill billys. I wanted to see gatorfans video. If that’s not a HIPPA violation than I don’t know what is. Well let me get off my soap box and congratulate you for a well fought fight. Thank you for looking out for our community.
Hi Luca,
What you didn’t see in any of my interviews was the quote where Doug Smith asked me “What would you like to see happen to this place?” and I said, “What I don’t want to see happen is for people who have legitimate pain issues to lose the ability to get treatment.” I hope you’re able to get the legitimate treatment you need and I hope my efforts haven’t made that any harder for you.
And thank you for the congratulations. I’m very excited that they’ve been raided. I hope that means they are gone for good.
Best,
Ryan
@ryan
Just to correct some misinformation. Superior Injury Center operated out of 1943 MLK from Dec 2008 to Jan 28th 2010. We moved out of the strip center becuase Haim asked us to and due to the overcrowding of the parking lot and the other tenants were complaining. The owners of VIP Pharmacy decided to open up a clinic in our old spot. I have no idea how they convinced Haim to allow that, but honestly it does not concern me. From what I gather, the clinic where Heromin worked then moved to the facility shown on the news reports. As far as Heromin, I do not know anything about that doctor, I can only go based on what I hear.
I request that Superior Injury Center is left out of this thread of conversation. We do not operate like Tampa Wellness, our operation is licensed and has been audited by every regulatory agency.
Thank you.
I am sure they will be gone from that location, but sad enough they will reopen somewhere else. You have caused me no grief. I was never treated there. As i said earlier I walked in and walked out. I waited on line for 10 minutes or so, thats all it took to realize that place was dirty, and walked out. There are plenty of legit places and MD in Tampa.
Just to say…all you people blaming Dr. Ron Heromin and the pain clinic and calling them murderers, etc… FIND SOMETHING BETTER TO DO. Pain managment is crucial for many people to live their lives, yes there will always be people who slip through the cracks (drug seekers) but you will NEVER stop that. The U.S. has spent how many billion dollars on the drug war? Yet you can still find any drug in any major city. People like to get intoxicated, this will never stop. By bringing all this drama on pain clinics it will be much harder for people who need meds to get them. Also, the addicts will not just “disapear”, they are still going to need their fix, and now they will be giving their money to the dope boy on the corner who has a Glock in his pants and will killl you if you cross him. I don’t think these clinics provide the same threat and that while yes there are problems, this is the lesser of the evils. No one makes anyone take these pills, people SEEK them out, therefore any deaths are their own fault. Perhaps they should have edjucated themselves on what pills they were putting into their own bodies instead of being stupid, overdosing, and then having their families blame where the pills came from. The real solution to this problem is to legalize ALL drugs and make them all over the counter so that they are easily affortable and people know exactly the strength and purity of what they are getting. Yes, there will people who abuse (like with alcohol) but if properly edjucated and possesing just a bit of self control drugs would not be such an issue. You smoke a joint on your own time WHO CARES, you shoot dope on your own time WHO CARES, as long as you dont hurt another human they are all victimless crimes and it is rediculous to think that a governemnt will tell people what substances are appropriate for them to use and which are not. Sorry for the poor spelling and grammer, I am in a rush and just wanted to get my .02 in.
@newhere
Hi newhere,
I actually don’t disagree with some of what you’re saying, but I’ll get to that shortly. Where I do want to take issue with your comment is on the point of making it harder for people with legitimate pain needs to get drugs. I don’t believe that is the case. Since the implementation of stricter oversight in Kentucky and Ohio there has not been an outcry about how hard it is for legitimate patients to get drugs. Additionally, the people traveling to Florida to get these drugs aren’t the legitimate patients but rather addicts and dealers. Ergo, cracking down on these clinics isn’t going to hurt the legitimate patients with maybe one exception: the working poor who don’t have insurance and pay cash for their healthcare. Admittedly, the new health plan should help address that problem, but that is the only exception. Otherwise, cracking down simply keeps these drugs out of the hands of addicts and dealers – at least, getting them easy is no longer the case.
As far as making all drugs legal… I don’t know that making ALL drugs legal is the answer, but making some drugs legal may help. The only reason I’m hesitant to say that all drugs should be made legal is because people are remarkably uneducated as it is. Drugs are complicated. We need experts to inform us about them, their interactions, and their side effects. If we made them all over the counter, there would be a lot more deaths, many out of ignorance. That doesn’t seem like much of a solution. But, yes, the addicts and dealers are still going to do what they can to get drugs. I don’t have a solution for that problem, but I don’t think the answer is a free for all wild west.
Ryan,
There has been an outcry from out of state patients who can’t get meds. Yes, there are some who are after the narcotics but believe it or not people come from other states to deal with legitimate pain issues because laws have gotten so draconian in other states. Legitimate pain users have also been known to sell pills on the black market when in need of cash. It is just as easy for an addict to get their fix with or without a clinic, there are certain areas in Tampa you can walk down the street and be offered heroin, oxy, coke, crack, weed, whatever you want, it is very easy to find.
All of this drama is completley unnecessary and pointless, would you rather this money coming into florida or would you rather the addicts get their fix from the gangmember in the hood?
Yes, I can imagine it might have been a bit annoying to live next to but you live right off MLK, noise should be understood and expected in that area. The current drug war is worthless. If people were for example made to take certain classes and obtain a liscence to use drugs, why not? Just like taking a concealed weapons course to carry a firearm, this is a great responsibilty. However, if people are taught about the potential side effects, interactions, and all opiates are a very safe class of drugs. The only danger is of addiction or overdose which can both be prevented with proper education. Pills cost pennies to produce, imagine if an addict could get their fix for 25 cents there would be much less crime and lives ruined over drugs, people would be able to use safley, be able to afford to maintain a habit, and become productive citizens because they do not need to hustle up a 20 dollar bill to buy a fix. The harder it is for the addicts to get the pills the more crimes that will be commited in order to fund their addictions.
Live and let live, as long as they aren’t hurting you, butt out! Basically, educated drug use where it is cheap and readily avilable in my opinion is a much better option than what is currently going on. Anyways, I’m rambling, school tomorrow, goodnight all.
@newhere
newhere, you’ll have to provide evidence of this “outcry”. I’m a scientist. Unless you can show me through newspaper articles or peer-reviewed evidence, I won’t believe the crackdowns have hurt any legitimate patients. In fact, I found a peer-reviewed article today that talked about the Oxycontin problem in Kentucky in the 1980s. There was no outcry after they cracked down. So, I’m not buying it. Bring me some evidence.
Second point – would I rather the money come into Florida? Well, if Tampa Bay Wellness is any indication, they weren’t reporting the income to the government anyway. So, take your pick: drug dealer on the street not paying taxes or pain management clinics dealing in cash not paying taxes. Tax revenue isn’t going to sell me on this. So, that argument doesn’t work either.
Third point – you can find this easily. Maybe you know where to find it. I don’t. I’m not looking. So, maybe it is easy. If so, I don’t know.
Fourth point – I should put up with drug addicts and drug dealers because I live near MLK. See my response above to this point. Basically, you’re saying I should put up with it because I don’t live in the best neighborhood. My response before and my response now – go screw yourself! It doesn’t belong here or anywhere. It’s illegal. It’s not car noise. It’s crime. And I refuse to allow it in my neighborhood because I live in the city. We didn’t have issues before the clinic and now that it’s shut down, we don’t have issues now. Ergo, no, I will not put up with it and screw you for even suggesting that I should. Don’t bring that point up again, ’cause it won’t get you anywhere!
Fifth point – you really think people taking classes on drugs is the answer? Less than 80% of Americans graduate from high school now as it is (less than 50% in some neighborhoods). We’re remarkably ignorant on a lot of things (e.g., science, evolution, politics, math, etc.). And you think we can teach everyone to become pharmacists with a class or two. If we could, I’d agree with it. But the reality is that we cannot. Ergo, this argument falls flat too. You’re not dealing with reality on this point.
I love your comparison on this point – firearms. There are over 10,000 deaths every year in the U.S. due to firearms. Obviously people don’t use them correctly – or maybe they do. Firearms are designed to shoot things and kill things. Ergo, having them legal makes it easy to kill stuff, including people. If we legalize drugs that can kill people, do you think it will be any different? In other words, your comparison to firearms undermines your own argument.
I will say I agree with you on one point – addicts would be less likely to rob people if they could get their fix for cheap. That’s probably true. But they still wouldn’t have any money – they are addicts. So, how are they going to get the little money they need? Unless you want the government to provide their drugs, I don’t think this will work either.
Trust me, newhere, I’d love to see relatively harmless drugs like marijuana legalized. It doesn’t make much sense to make that illegal when it’s virtually impossible to overdose on it and the only side effect is that you feel happy. But I’m not sold only legalizing Oxycontin for over-the-counter distribution. The negatives don’t outweight the positive and your arguments aren’t convincing me otherwise.