Yellow Springs doctor accused of sexual misconduct has medical license suspended

Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and sheriff’s office search Dr. Donald Gronbeck’s office.
Yellow Springs Primary Care, the office of Dr. Donald Gronbeck, who had his medical license suspended Wednesday over sexual misconduct allegations.

Yellow Springs Primary Care, the office of Dr. Donald Gronbeck. Gronbeck had his medical license suspended Wednesday over sexual misconduct allegations. LONDON BISHOP/STAFF

YELLOW SPRINGS — A Yellow Springs doctor had his medical license suspended amid accusations of sexual misconduct against his patients.

Dr. Donald Gronbeck of Yellow Springs Primary Care had his license suspended Wednesday, according to State Medical Board of Ohio documents that show alleged acts of sexual misconduct with eight patients under his care between 2013 and 2022.

The Ohio medical board said in a letter to Gronbeck that it had determined that there is clear and convincing evidence that he had violated state law and “have determined that your continued practice presents a danger of immediate and serious harm to the public.”

Gronbeck is accused of having a sexual relationship with one of his female patients, and at least six other female patients reported instances of groping or sexual contact, according to state medical board filings.

A spokesman for the Ohio Attorney General’s office confirmed that the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Greene County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant Thursday at Gronbeck’s business in Yellow Springs as part of an ongoing criminal investigation. No criminal charges have been filed.

The Greene County Sheriff’s Office has created a tip line on its website asking people who may have more details about Gronbeck to report it.

Documents from the state medical board further accuse Gronbeck of writing a patient a prescription for Rivastigmine patches, commonly used to treat Alzheimer’s and Dementia, and then instructing her to hand out the patches to his employees.

Gronbeck also allegedly created a private email account and used a messaging app called Cover Me, where messages disappear quickly and are not saved, to have sexually explicit conversations with a female patient, according to the state investigation.

Gronbeck, a graduate of Antioch College and Wright State University School of Medicine, opened the practice in May 2014, according to the business’s Facebook page.

Gronbeck could not be reached for comment. The state’s investigation remains ongoing.

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