Hoke got in trouble for the medical board for several cases. I can't get any of my web browsers to read the entire document -- if anybody is, please email me the pages! At any rate, the first page says that on December 7, 1973, Hoke performed an abortion on a pregnancy past 12 weeks by injecting a solution into the woman's uterus, then telling her to go to a motel room to expel the fetus, unattended by any medical personnel. On December 2, 1973, Hoke performed an abortion on a woman even after her pregnancy test had come back negative. He did the same thing again on a date I can't determine from the documents, to another patient.
In another medical board document I can only access the first page of, the board notes that on April 3, 1973, Hoke undertook a tubal ligation on a patient. He only ligated one tube, but somehow failed to ligate the other tube. He then for some reason not medically indicated checked that same woman back into the hospital and performed a hysterectomy on her in order to conceal the fact that he'd only tied one of her tubes. He then falsified hospital records to cover this up. As a reflection, I guess, on Hoke's character, the board noted that on July 28, 1973, hoke stole a can of deodorant from a drug store.
Hoke was also responsible for an unintended late abortion "Jean" and her husband visited Hallmark Clinic when they suspected that she was pregnant. A clinic pamphlet indicated that Hallmark used "the most modern, and by far the safest" abortion technique, and that abortions past 12 weeks gestation would be performed by Hallmark's Board Certified or Board Eligible doctors at a local hospital, as required by law, rather than in the clinic. Reassured by the pamphlet, Jean returned for an abortion on November 20, 1973. Because the abortion was being done in the clinic rather than the hospital, Jean believed that her pregnancy was in the first trimester. Harold Hoke performed a suction abortion, then discharged Jean without a post-abortion examination. Jean suffered "excruciating pain and bleeding" at home. At 5AM on November 22, Jean's mother-in-law rushed her to the emergency room, where she expelled a severely mutilated 19-week female fetus. Jean was hospitalized, returned home on bed rest, and was unable to work. (Lincoln County Superior Court Case No. 74CVS247)
Harold Hoke was investigated for dumping fetuses and medical waste at Colwick Towers dumpster summer of 1992. Hoke claimed that his Hallmark Clinic sent such material out through a disposal firm, but the firm's records showed no materials received from Hoke for 2 months. "On August 12 and August 22, a Charlotte Observer reporter saw a considerable amount of fetal tissue removed from the dumpster adjacent to the clinic. The remains, deposited in 10 to 15 large plastic trash bags, included readily identifiable body parts. Among them were a left forearm and hand, a left leg and foot, a right forearm and hand, part of a right foot, and a spinal column and rib cage. In several cases the remains had been dumped in trash bags along with ordinary garbage: coffee grounds, cigarette butts and remnants of chicken dinners." Hoke was quoted as responding, "I don't care what you saw. If you saw a little green monster there, somebody else put it there." Such dumping would be in violation of state law requiring certain packaging and incineration of such materials. (Charlotte Observer 9-2-92)
Hoke also tried to weasel out of lawsuits by making patients sign a waiver.
Here is another case case, that involved a 14-year-old girl Hoke injured in 1983. Again, Hoke tried to weasel out of the suit by claiming that hey, she'd signed an arbitration agreement.
Faye W alleged that in March of 1972, Hoke informed her that lab work from a prior routine pelvic exam revealed that she had cancer; he recommended surgery as soon as Faye could enter the hospital. "Shortly afterward" Hoke told Faye he would be away for several weeks and would contact her when he returned to his office. Faye returned for an office visit in April, and asked about the nature and location of the cancer. Hoke denied that he had diagnosed cancer. On May 1 Faye returned, and Hoke arranged for her to enter the hospital on May 23 for a hysterectomy to treat the cancer. Hoke never explained to Faye "the seriousness or location of the cancer." During the hysterectomy Hoke cut one ureter and sutured both of them shut inadvertently; it was immediately apparent that Faye's ureters had been blocked because of cessation of urine output. Hoke would not examine Faye although she and her husband insisted that he should diagnose the cause of her symptoms. Finally, after over a day, Hoke sought a consult with a urologist at the insistence of Faye's husband. Faye required surgery to repair her ureters. (Mecklenburg County Superior Court Case No. 73CVS3081)
Hoke's medical license is currently inactive. He was born in 1926, which makes him over 80 years old. Prayers for his immortal soul would not be amiss. This guy will be meeting his Maker soon and he's not been a good boy.
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