California medical board cites mental illness in suspending Visalia doctor’s license

The Medical Board of California has suspended the license of a Visalia family physician after a hearing to determine his ability to safely practice medicine.

The board issued an immediate suspension of the license of Dr. Alejandro Castellanos Torres after a hearing on July 26. The board said Torres “suffers from a mental illness” and that permitting the doctor to continue practicing medicine “will endanger the public health, safety or welfare.”

Torres did not appear at the hearing but spoke by telephone at the hearing, the board said.

According to records on file with the medical board, Torres graduated from the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine in 1978.

Torres could not be reached for comment. The Visalia Medical Clinic, where Torres had been a family medicine doctor, said Monday he worked at the clinic from 1996 until he retired in January 2018.

This story was originally published July 30, 2018 at 12:18 PM.