Doctor Accused of Racism for Allegedly Criticizing Patient for Not Speaking English

A doctor from California is being criticized after he had allegedly lashed out at his Spanish-speaking patients for not speaking English.

Yueset Galura told KTLA that she and her daughter went with their 67-year-old mother, Maria Ramirez, to her cardiology appointment on Thursday in San Bernardino, California. Galura told the news station that she was shocked the cardiologist, Paul Ryan, began insulting and yelling Ramirez after she simply asked him if he spoke Spanish.

"As soon as the doctor walked in the room, she asked him if he spoke Spanish and that was all it took for him to snap and start insulting her about speaking Spanish, being in this country and not knowing his language," Galura told the news station.

The video, which was posted to Facebook on Friday by Jesiary Colon, shows the doctor and Galura in a heated argument over the way he spoke to her mother. Ryan can be heard saying that he was not trying to be offensive and said he was "an American."

Screen Shot 2018-11-07 at 11
Pulse Cardiology in San Bernardino, California. A cardiologist is under fire for allegedly criticizing a Spanish-speaking patient to speak English. Google Maps/Screenshot

"You don't need to do nothing but tell me if something's wrong with her. If she's ok, if not, then I'll translate to my mother. You don't need to tell me that she needs to learn English," Galura can be heard telling Ryan in the video. "Communicate through me and I will let her know."

Galura told KTLA this was the first time her mother, who is a U.S. citizen, had seen Ryan for an appointment and has yet to receive her test results back. On Monday, Galura, her mother and other relatives protested outside of Ryan's clinic in an effort to warn other Latino patients about going to Ryan's office.

"I want to unmask the doctor," Galura told the news station. "If you don't like being around Mexicans, Latinos, Hispanic, or any other race other than what your race is, then you have no room in the medical field."

Pulse Cardiology, Ryan's office, released a statement to KTLA on Monday, stating that Ryan is not currently seeing patients and an investigation has been launched.

"Pulse Cardiology is conducting an independent investigation into the reported incident involving Dr. Ryan, who currently is not seeing patients at either of our clinics or St. Bernardine Medical Center. The reported incident does not reflect the values of Pulse physicians, assistants and administrators," the statement read. "Since its inception three years ago as the Inland Empire's premier cardiology practice, Pulse has proudly served all patients regardless of nationality with a diverse staff that is fluent in several languages, including Spanish."

A similar incident occurred in Oakland, California, in August after the former CEO of a mental health clinic yelled at a group of Spanish speakers for parking their car in front of her home. Lesleigh Franklin yelled at Jordan Cordova and his family "for no reason." Marisol Reyna, Franklin's co-founder of the East Bay Family Institute which provides mental health services and works with the immigrant community, previously told the San Francisco Chronicle that she had left her position as CEO and was just diagnosed with a mental illness that had altered her mental state that day.

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About the writer


Maria Perez is a breaking news reporter for Newsweek. She has an M.A in Urban Reporting from the CUNY Graduate School ... Read more

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