NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF-TV) — Metro police and counselors will meet Thursday with women who came forward after a NewsChannel 5 investigation into the Center for Reproductive Health.
NewsChannel 5 Investigates first exposed how one of the men who had treated patients at the now closed Nashville fertility clinic was in fact not a licensed medical doctor.
Recently some of the women who were patients at the clinic decided to get together and talk about what had happened and they invited NewsChannel 5 Investigates to be there.
These women who had never met before were soon sharing and comparing stories.
These were people who understood exactly what they are going through.
"We’re all here because we couldn’t get pregnant on our own, right?" Mary Schacher said.
They have not only struggled with infertility, they were also all patients at the Center for Reproductive Health, the Nashville fertility clinic that abruptly shut down in early April after the staff was not paid.
But it wasn't until after the facility closed that NewsChannel 5 Investigates discovered that one of the men who treated patients there wasn't actually a licensed medical doctor.
We asked the women at the gathering how many of them had been patients of Farere Dyer.
And everyone's hands went up.
But these women had no idea until they saw our reporting that Farere Dyer, the man they thought was a doctor, who had performed procedures on them, wasn't who he'd claimed to be.
"I was like, 'This can’t be real,'" Penny Coe recalled.
"He introduced himself as Dr. Dyer and everyone referred to him as Dr. Dyer in the clinic," Bethann Daugherty shared.
"And I was like, 'We just saw him,'" Elise West said.
"Then come to find out he wasn’t even a doctor. I honestly have cold chills just thinking about it," Sydney McDowell said.
"It feels like it’s unraveling and in just such a strange way that no one knows how to deal with it," John Morris stated.
Morris's wife, Chelsea, then started to speak before she broke down in tears and was comforted by the women around her.
The women said infertility is hard enough, but then to find out that the man they'd trusted and believed would help them get pregnant wasn't licensed to do so was almost just too much for them and those who love them.
Eric Davis was describing his wife, Sarah, who was sitting next to him, saying, "She’s so strong," when he too started to cry.
And Leanna Reyes, whose wife has gone through multiple unsuccessful treatments, was fighting back tears herself when she said, "It just doesn’t make sense, and you try to make sense of it, and you just get angrier and sadder."
Then Bethann Daugherty shared, "I feel violated for what happened. I mean, he was seeing people and doing procedures on people that he had no business doing."
While we knew that Dyer had performed a number of less invasive intrauterine inseminations or IUIs, we learned here, according to his patients, that he also did more complex procedures as well.
"Dr. Dyer (put me to sleep) for my first IVF egg removal so that’s like invasive and what not in and of itself and putting catheters in and putting someone under," Mary Schacher described.
As we have reported, not only is Farere Dyer not licensed to be a doctor, but degrees from the medical school in England he claims he attended are not recognized by most licensure boards.
Only one of the more than dozen women there said they had gotten pregnant.
Nicole Reyes told the group, "We just had our fourth IUI fail."
Now, these women are left wondering whether it was their bodies or their so-called doctor who failed them.
"(Farere Dyer) has got some explaining to do," Husband Aaron West volunteered.
The gathering was organized by Sarah Davis who told the gathering at the beginning:
"What happened to all of us is inexcusable, should’ve never happened."
Davis was the first to share her experience and her doubts about Farere Dyer with NewsChannel 5 Investigates.
She then discovered that there were so many others out there like her and so many others who needed a get together like this.
"To have a group of people that know what you’ve experienced and know what to say and know to hold your hand and not to hug you and know that you’re gonna cry at some point," Davis explained.
"I think that’s the biggest thing that we all deal with is this huge sense of betrayal," Chelsea Morris said.
And they know it isn't over.
Right now, the Tennessee Attorney General's Office and Metro Police are both investigating the Center for Reproductive Health, its founder and medical director, Dr. Jamie Vasquez along with Farere Dyer.
"What did they take from you?" we wanted to know.
Bethann Daughtery said through tears, "My hope. I don't think I'm as hopeful and I was."
But whatever happens next, these women know they won't have to face it alone.
"I don’t know half their names, but you know that they truly understand where you’re coming from," Penny Coe said.
The women were hoping to get some answers at a court hearing next week in the case filed by the Tennessee Attorney General against Dr. Vasquez and his clinic. But now the Center for Reproductive Health and its related entities have filed bankruptcy. And their attorneys have asked that the case be put on hold until that's resolved. They also asked that the case be moved from Davidson County Chancery Court to Federal Court.
The judge agreed to put the case on hold at least for now. We're working to find out just how long this could delay things. But we are told at the very least it will be several more months.
This news is clearly not what the patients wanted to hear. There are a lot of women who have embryos still at the facility that they want to use right now. But they say while the case is tied up in the courts, they can't seem to get answers as to when they might be able to access them or get them transferred to another clinic.
How we got here
Reporter Hannah McDonald first started writing on this when patients shared with her their fertility clinic shut down with no warning.
The staff received a letter reading in part" "Unforeseen circumstances have led to a financial deficit. Regrettably, you will not receive your paychecks tomorrow."
From there, the floodgates opened with stories from women and their experiences at the clinic. As we searched for answers, the Tennessee Attorney General and the Metro Nashville Police Department opened investigations.
On top of that, we learned that one of the providers at the clinic, Farere Dyer, didn't have licensing through Tennessee. He wasn't licensed to perform procedures, including intrauterine insemination or in vitro fertilization procedures. Each of the procedures helps women get pregnant.
Did this affect you?
If you were a patient or employee at the Center for Reproductive Health, investigators want to talk with you. They do ask that you contact all three agencies.
The Metro Nashville Police Department has created a special email box where people can file complaints and share information about possible criminal activity involving the Center for Reproductive Health.
That email address is CRHcomplaint@nashville.gov. Those emails will go directly to the Special Victims Division of the police department.
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti sued Dr. Vasquez and the Center for Reproductive Health under the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act, seeking immediate relief to patients caused by Dr. Vasquez’s unexpected suspension of patient care and the sudden closure of his clinic. To file a complaint, you can complete a complaint form here or you can call (615) 741-4737 or toll-free inside Tennessee at 1-(800)-342-8385.
NewsChannel 5's previous reporting on the Center for Reproductive Health:
Metro Police: We have not had a case like this before.
Tennessee Attorney General on suing the Center for Reproductive Health for abandoning patients
Center For Reproductive Health issues statement regarding closure
Legal recourse for patients of now closed fertility center
Patients left in limbo after Nashville fertility clinic suddenly closes
