Former Columbus doctor suspended as medical board investigates misconduct

Dr. D., a gastroenterologist from the Cincinnati area. David Joseph Wenzke is under investigation by the Ohio State Medical Board for alleged sexual assaults on multiple patients over a decade.
Allegations against Wenzke include inappropriate touching, sexual assault during procedures and mistreatment of a co-worker.
Wenzke had previously lost his clinical privileges and was terminated from a different practice in 2017 following similar complaints.

A former Columbus doctor may lose his license as the Ohio State Medical Board investigates allegations that he repeatedly assaulted patients in his care over more than a decade.

Dr. David Joseph Wenzke is a gastroenterologist. Stomach Health It’s been in Blue Ash, which has been licensed in Ohio since 2004. He is accused of inappropriately touching multiple patients. medical board records. The identities of the alleged victims are withheld in records to protect their medical privacy.

Wenzke could not be reached for comment. His attorney, Jason T. Gerkin of Columbus, said in an email to The Enquirer that Wenzke “strongly denies the allegations and looks forward to presenting his case to the board.”

“Hunting Patients,” a Dispatch study published in 2023It revealed that doctors accused of sexual misconduct are not that rare.

From 1980 to 2022, at least 256 Ohio doctors faced disciplinary action for sexual harassment. The Dispatch found that 199 of these doctors sexually abused or harassed 449 patients.

These figures do not include the unknown number of victims whose complaints never came forward or were not fully investigated in the past.

What are the allegations against Wenzke?

The allegations against Wenzke began in 2011, with the latest in the spring of 2023. Most of the complaints were made during Wenzke’s employment. Ohio Gastroenterology Group Inch. in Columbus. The complaints led to his loss of clinical privileges in June 2017 and his subsequent termination. He took a job at Gastro Health in late 2020.

Gastro Health spokeswoman Shannon Zemantauski said the practice was caught off guard by allegations dating back to before Wenzke started working there. He said the practice did due diligence in hiring him and even interviewed three of his former colleagues, but complaints against doctors were taken into account. It’s hard as everyone knows to watch.

“Upon notification of the investigation, Dr. Wenzke was immediately suspended and is not currently involved in patient care at Gastro Health,” the practice said in a statement emailed to The Enquirer. “The health and safety of our patients is always our priority.”

According to medical board records, patients complained about Wenzke:

In March 2011, he touched a female patient’s genitals without gloves during an examination.
In February 2012, he touched and squeezed the breasts of a patient who was sedated for a colonoscopy, then inserted his fingers into the woman’s vagina after the procedure.
In June 2017, I changed a young patient’s clothes while she was alone.
We spent more time applying and removing lubricant from female patients compared to male patients.
In March 2023, he began treating a female co-worker from whom he had purchased alcoholic beverages and began kissing her while she was “drunk and almost asleep” until her husband arrived to take her home.
An internal investigation occurred from March to May 2023 regarding a sexual interaction with a patient, which led to Wenzke being retrained on Gastro Health’s harassment policies and Code of Conduct.
Routinely adjusted nipples allow sedated female patients to have their breasts examined when not medically necessary.

Wenzke was officially notified last month that the medical board had decided whether to limit, revoke or suspend his license. Wenzke, whose current license expires in October 2025, is expected to appear before the board for a hearing in late June.

What are the allegations against Wenzke?

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