Dentist surrenders license

An elderly north Spokane dentist has agreed to voluntarily surrender his license and never practice dentistry in Washington state again rather than face the possibility of sanctions after investigators found unsanitary conditions in his offices, including a cat roaming his examination rooms, the Department of Health said Monday.

Henry G. Kolsrud, 82, agreed to close his office at 3718 N. Monroe, where, in March and April 2005, an investigation revealed unsafe and unsanitary conditions, according to the state Health Department. That May, the state Department of Social and Health Services terminated Kolsrud’s contract to provide Medicaid care to his low-income patients.

Last December, the dentist was ordered to appear before the state’s Dental Quality Assurance Commission to answer charges of unprofessional conduct based on what inspectors saw and what they heard from current and former employees.

Among the allegations: Dental instruments were not sterilized between use, staff was inadequately trained, a cat was allowed to roam in examination rooms, cat food was kept in the same refrigerator as dental supplies and Kolsrud “scooped up feline feces and vomit with a spatula normally used for mixing dental impression fabrication material.”

In January 2006, when the charges were announced, Kolsrud’s attorney, Stephen Lamberson, said many of the allegations were “simply untrue” and others were the fabrication of “a disgruntled employee.” He was granted an extension to respond to the charges.

On March 7, nearly a year after the first inspection, Kolsrud, who had practiced dentistry since 1953, signed a Health Department order agreeing to surrender his license and not practice in the state again.