Panhandle Health: Banks bio might be decades old

Panhandle Health District officials say the biography that describes Dr. Allen Banks as a teacher at the University of Wisconsin has likely been up on the health district’s website since the Bonner County at-large board member first took the position in 1997.

The biography — which, as of Monday afternoon, was still up on Panhandle’s website — has come under criticism after an anonymous source tipped off the Hagadone News Network with claims that Banks never taught at the University of Wisconsin. Banks said he was a guest lecturer at a recurring conference at the university’s medical school, where he spoke on his subject of expertise, prolotherapy.

Banks no longer lectures at the conferences, but that present tense version of the word — “teach,” rather than “taught” — was only half of the issue. A University of Wisconsin spokesperson told the Hagadone News Network that Allen’s claim as a teacher is a mischaracterization.

“Teaching continuing medical education is different than being an instructor or faculty member at the university,” said Meredith McGlone, director of news and media relations for the University of Wisconsin.

Banks stands by his claim, saying that his function at the annual conferences was to provide instruction to doctors looking to retain credentials on prolotherapy, an injection-based treatment for musculoskeletal pain.

“They’re probably looking at the point of view of, ‘Did this guy say he was a professor?’” Banks said. “I don’t think that’s right. I don’t think it’s right to say I’m a professor. But you teach this course several years in a row, you’re about to go work for some institution or another, so you put on your resume, because they might be interested that you have some expertise in the field. If you taught this course, you’d probably list that on your resume.”

Katherine Hoyer, public information officer for Panhandle Health, said Monday the district’s staff doesn’t keep a record of when board member biographies were posted to the website, but that Banks’s biography could be more than 20 years old.

“The bio was most likely initially done in 1997 when Dr. Banks was appointed by the Bonner County commissioners to the at-large position and elected by all five county commissions to that position,” she said.

Hoyer said the district asks board members to send in their biographies, and that no vetting or verification process takes place.

“We assume that the county-appointed (or) BOCC-elected board members are truthful,” Hoyer said.

Hoyer added that to prevent future miscommunications, the district will begin a process of asking board members to review and update their biographies on an annual basis.