CHEYENNE — One month after Jason Ray was terminated by the Sublette County Hospital District (SCHD), the Wyoming Board of Medicine (WYBOM) suspended his license to practice as a Physician’s Assistant. The suspension is effective as of 6 p.m. on Feb. 15, pending a contested case hearing.

A 12-page document filed by the WYBOM and obtained by the Pinedale Roundup summarizes the case, findings of facts and reasons for the suspension, with the board of seven concluding after a recent special meeting that “public health, safety and welfare imperatively requires emergency action in this matter” against Ray.

As reported by the Pinedale Roundup last month, Ray was terminated by the SCHD on Jan. 15. “There was a complaint lodged with the district the weekend before last weekend, a complaint of a very serious nature,” SCHD board chair Tonia Hoffman said at the time. “The claims were investigated internally and substantiated.” Ray’s termination was based on that complaint. Hoffman declined to comment following the news of Ray’s suspended license, stating in a Feb. 20 email, “As he is not presently our employee, it’s no longer in my purview.”

With the WYBOM filing, more information has been made public than what any SCHD representative could say on the record.

‘Sexual misconduct’ with patients

On Jan. 5, the SCHD Board of Trustees became aware of the sexual misconduct with a person referred to as “Patient #1.” The following day, on Jan. 6, “Patient #2” came forward with similar allegations.

On Jan. 31, the WYBOM’s office received a formal complaint alleging that P.A. Ray had violated patient boundaries by engaging “in sexual misconduct with a patient and possibly staff members while employed at Sublette County Hospital District.”

According to the complaint, Patient #1 was employed by SCHD from May 2017 through August 2018 and started the alleged sexual relationship with P.A. Ray while at work with him on SCHD property in October 2017. On March 20, 2020, Ray prescribed medications for Patient #1. 

She described their relationship in the complaint as “on-again, off-again” from October 2017 until she terminated it in October 2023.

Patient #2 first came to the SCHD facility where Ray was working for medical care, which he provided to her at eight separate appointments between Feb. 15, 2021, and March 22, 2023, according to the patient’s medical records. In her written statement, Patient #2 says that almost immediately after seeing P.A. Ray at an appointment, he sent her a text message suggesting “they’d connected” during her appointment and that he could talk to her more about her “situations.” Patient #2 asked Ray if it was acceptable to do so and he responded that he’s counseled people in his office before.

About a week later, Patient #2 and P.A. Ray determined a time to meet at the clinic. He let her in through the side door and led her to his office. She alleges that before she left, P.A. Ray hugged her, and then kissed her. In February 2021, P.A. Ray engaged in “extramarital activities” with Patient #2 for the first time. She claims that she met P.A. Ray to engage in sexual relations with him at locations owned by the SCHD over three years, during which they communicated regularly by text message and on Snapchat.

‘Improper and unauthorized access’

Ray’s personnel file and its contents were subpoenaed as part of the WYBOM’s investigation into the complaint. Within the file, an Aug. 25, 2022, written “disciplinary action form” depicting Ray’s signature emphasizes that the P.A. had “improperly accessed a minor’s healthcare record on July 11-12, 2022.” In doing so, Ray violated “SCHD practices, the Privacy Act, and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).”

Ray’s actions, if proven, would constitute one or more violations of Wyoming State Statute, specifically the following: sexual misconduct, violating HIPAA, practicing below the standard of care regardless of causation or damage, unprofessional or dishonorable conduct not otherwise specified, failure to conform to the applicable standard of care, willful or careless disregard for the health, welfare or safety of a patient, engaging in conduct that is harmful or dangerous to the health of a patient, engaging in conduct intended or likely to deceive, defraud or harm the public, engaging in conduct that relates adversely to the practice of medicine including, but not limited to stalking and unlawful exploitation of a minor, intentionally or negligently disclosing confidential patient information not otherwise permitted by law, and behavior toward a patient that exploits the position of trust, knowledge, emotions or influence of the licensee.

When asked about potential criminal charges pending against the P.A., Sublette County Attorney Clayton Melinkovich said on Feb. 20 that he “cannot comment on pending investigations or even whether there is or is not an investigation.”

Proven bad behavior

Ray was issued a “temporary” Wyoming Physician Assistant License on Sept. 16, 2016, followed by a “permanent” license on Jan. 27, 2017. Until now, that license has been renewed annually since its issuance.

But this is not the first time that the embattled but beloved by many P.A. has been in trouble. In August 2022, Ray pleaded guilty to battery resulting in bodily injury to a minor connected to a July 9, 2022, road rage incident involving a 16-year-old and a motor vehicle crash.

Three other misdemeanor charges against Ray, including two additional counts of battery and reckless endangering, were dropped as part of a plea deal struck with then-county attorney Mike Crosson.

Ray had been traveling on the upper boat dock/campground road hauling his boat after spending the day on Fremont Lake. He told Sublette County Sheriff’s Deputy Todd Morgan that he was driving slowly because of the potholes in the road when he was passed in the left lane by a 2001 white Dodge 1500 pickup truck in what Ray described as “an unsafe manner” and “at a high rate of speed.”

The juvenile driver told law enforcement he estimated he passed Ray at 30 mph while driving in third gear.

Ray told the investigator that when the pickup stopped at the intersection of Forest Service Road 111 and Fremont Lake Road, he pulled in behind the teen, honked his horn and then approached to confront him about his unsafe driving behavior.

Ray initially claimed that the juvenile began to swing at him through the driver’s window; the victim denied hitting Ray and two witnesses told officers that Ray ripped off the teen’s shirt and struck him twice in the face.

The teen reported that Ray “grabbed (his) left inner arm between the bicep and forearm” trying to pull him out of the vehicle. He added that Ray “struck him with a closed fist on his left chin and then again as his friend pulled up behind them.

According to court records, as Ray yanked the teen from his pickup, his foot came off the clutch, causing the 2001 Dodge to roll backward into Ray’s F250.

Speaking to Deputy Morgan, Ray said he told a witness who confronted him about the driver being under the age of 18, “I’ll f---ing punch you too if you want it, you know, like get the f--- out of my face.”

The Sublette County Circuit Court judge who sentenced Ray in the road rage case, Curt Haws, told Ray that he is “a valued and valuable member of the community, but it appears (he has) an issue he needs to address” before stating he was pleased to see the terms of the plea deal included Ray agreeing to undergo an anger management evaluation. The judge imposed a 180-day jail sentence, with 178 days suspended, requiring Ray to serve only two consecutive days in jail.

Ray was also sentenced to six months unsupervised probation.

He was ordered to pay $1,671.67 in restitution to the minor victim for medical expenses and damage done to his vehicle.

Ray apologized not to his victim, but to Judge Haws, stating, “I’m sorry we’re here today. I vow it will never happen again.”

Judge Haws noted that the last time Ray was in his courtroom was two to four years prior when his testimony about following and confronting a bad driver was used to convict another man of reckless driving. As a result, that man lost his job. The Circuit Court judge explained that due to Ray's apparent history of road rage, he would be forced to vacate that previous conviction.

Although Ray was temporarily placed on administrative leave in 2022 during that investigation, his employment with the SCHD ultimately continued following his “guilty” plea until Jan. 15.

Ongoing suspension

Per the WYBOM, which is the sole and exclusive regulatory licensing agency for medicine practitioners in Wyoming, the summary suspension of Ray’s P.A. license will continue until the filing of a formal petition setting forth in detail the alleged violations by Ray and the completion of a contested case hearing.