Vaccine-skeptic doctor on Boise-area health board let his medical license lapse. Now this
Dr. Ryan Cole’s medical license is now active after having lapsed for 65 days.
The Garden City pathologist and Central District Health board member was no longer licensed by the Idaho Board of Medicine after his license lapsed June 30, placing his position on the board in question, the Idaho Statesman reported Wednesday.
Idaho law requires every public health district in the state to have at least one licensed physician on its board. Cole had filled that role for the Boise-area board of health. The district, which covers Ada, Boise, Elmore and Valley counties, has seven board members.
By late Wednesday afternoon, the status of Cole’s license went from lapsed to active on the state’s database for occupational and professional licenses, according to Bob McLaughlin, spokesperson for the Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses. The license was originally issued Sept. 13, 2003.
Lapsed means the window to renew has passed, and the license is out of compliance, the division’s website says. Active means the licensee can operate legally.
The Idaho Board of Medicine gives physicians five years to renew their licenses before they have to start over with a new application, McLaughlin previously told the Statesman.
Cole did not respond Tuesday to a phone call or text from the Statesman. Elizabeth Duncan, a spokesperson for the Ada County Commission, which appointed Cole, said the commission reached out to Cole over the weekend as soon as the license lapse was brought to their attention.
“Dr. Cole realized it was an oversight and provided the appropriate materials and documentation,” Duncan said Wednesday evening in a statement. “We are happy this was resolved quickly.”
Maria Ortega, communications manager for Central District Health, told the Statesman by phone Tuesday that the health district was unaware Cole’s license had lapsed until an Idaho Press reporter inquired about it by email Aug. 27.
Cole narrowly secured the votes needed to become the only physician on the Boise-area district health board in 2021. The position became vacant when the Ada County Commission chose not to reappoint Dr. Ted Epperly, who had served on the board for 15 years and pushed for public health measures during the pandemic.
Cole, on the other hand, questioned the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines, advocated against masks and suggested a Boise surgeon’s death was tied to the vaccine, a comment the surgeon’s life partner called an “outright lie.”
Earlier this year, he was restricted from practicing most medicine in Washington after that state’s Medical Commission said he spread disinformation in “dishonest” presentations about COVID-19, the Idaho Statesman reported.
This story was originally published September 4, 2024 at 5:04 PM.
