WATERVILLE – A physician who has practiced in the Waterville area for nearly three decades agreed Tuesday to surrender his state medical license.
Dr. Michael J. Griffin, 62, of Oakland surrendered his license and said he will retire as part of a consent agreement in which he admitted to “consuming alcohol in violation of his contract with the Maine Medical Professionals Health Program,” the Maine Board of Licensure said in a statement Wednesday.
The state medical program was monitoring Griffin’s sobriety, and the licensing board said it received information in April that Griffin had consumed alcohol. As a result, the board voted in May to initiate a complaint. Griffin’s agreement to surrender his license settled the matter.
Griffin was listed by the board as practicing gastroenterology at 325E Kennedy Memorial Drive in Waterville. According to the website of MaineGeneral Medical Center, that address is the office of Mid-Maine Gastroenterology.
Contacted on Wednesday, Griffin referred questions to his lawyer, Ken Lehman of the law firm Bernstein Shur.
“The decision to voluntarily surrender his license is consistent with his planned retirement from the practice,” Lehman said Wednesday. “In this agreement, there has never been any question or concern about Dr. Griffin’s competence and practice as a physician or gastroenterologist. He acknowledges he’s in recovery and will continue to work on his recovery.”
A MaineGeneral Web page on Griffin’s medical background says he has practiced in the area since 1981. It says he graduated from Boston College and Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia.
His specialties were in gastroenterology and internal medicine, according to the state licensing board.
Randal Manning, spokesman for the board, declined to release additional information about Griffin’s violation because it involves a private contract with the board.
He said the monitoring program that Griffin was involved with generally requires regular participation with support groups and includes random chemical tests.
“The whole purpose is to go into the program voluntarily when you have a problem, so while you’re being monitored you ensure patient safety and your own safety,” Manning said.
Lehman said Griffin had been planning to retire for a couple of years but had stayed on for several reasons, including to accommodate the medical office.
Although Griffin’s license was surrendered Tuesday, he has been on leave from the practice for a couple of months, Lehman said.
“We don’t view this as punitive; it’s the next step,” he said.
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