Suspended GA doctor hired by St. Croix hospital despite death investigations

ATLANTA (CBS46) -

A Georgia doctor, stripped of her medical license earlier this year after the deaths of two patients in Cobb County, was hired and quickly fired from the Gov. Juan F. Luis Hospital in St. Croix, Virgin Islands, according to local news reports.

The VI Consortium reported that Dr. Nedra Dodds was hired as an emergency room consultant at Luis Hospital on Sept. 17, 2014 -seven months after the Georgia Composite Medical Board suspended Dodd's license. In its order, the Board wrote Dodd's "continued practice of medicine poses a threat to the public health, safety and welfare."

According to hospital CEO Dr. Kendall Griffith, Dodds was brought on to help improve customer service processes.

Dodds' license suspension came after CBS46 News reported on the deaths of two women following plastic surgery procedures at Dodd's practice, Opulence Aesthetic Medicine in Kennesaw. CBS46 investigative reporter Adam Murphy also found Dodd's touted credentials that weren't valid.

CBS46 confirmed that Dodds does not have a license to practice medicine in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

According to the VI Consortium, Dr. Griffith admitted the hospital leadership did not perform a thorough background check of Dodds but insisted no patient was placed in danger.

In a statement that appears on the VI Consortium website, Griffith wrote, Dodd's "contract was very specific and involved no clinical services or interactions with any JFL patients."

JFL reportedly fired Dodds after the first news report about her employment on Oct. 4.

JFL Hospital was scheduled to lose its Medicare accreditation Thursday but federal regulators gave the hospital another chance to correct a series of problems that reportedly caused harm to patients.

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Suspended GA doctor hired by St. Croix hospital despite death investigations