To the editor:

After reading the recent articles in the Kansas City and Lawrence papers, I felt the need to write a letter in support of Dr. Howard Ellis. I have known Dr. Ellis since the late 1980s both as a fellow physician and having served for 11 years on the Board of Healing Arts with him.

As an obstetrics and gynecology specialist, Dr. Ellis began seeing patients in my office in the late 1980s because of our city’s significant need for his specialty. Our association developed into a business partnership with the building of our office in Lawrence. In all my dealings with Dr. Ellis, I found him to be a professional, highly intelligent and very caring physician.

In working on the Board of Healing Arts, I had the opportunity to work with many highly capable physicians and laypeople. Without a doubt, Dr. Ellis was a most valuable member of our board. He was knowledgeable and articulate in his dealings with our licensees. He was levelheaded and never used emotions to get in the way of his being fair to the citizens of our state or to the licensee.

Unfortunately, he has felt the need to resign from the board. Having been a board member myself for 12 years, I have firsthand knowledge of the workings of a healing arts board. If any of the incidents that took place in Missouri had any merit whatsoever, the Missouri board would have definitely taken action.

Dr. John Gravino,

Lawrence