MARSHALL, Mich. — Michigan state Sen. John Bizon is facing charges of assault from a nurse practitioner that treated him at Oaklawn Medical Group in August.
Bizon has been a Republican state senator for Michigan's 19th district, which includes Barry, Calhoun and Ionia Counties, since 2019. He is an otolaryngologist in Battle Creek.
A nurse practitioner at the hospital says Bizon assaulted her on Aug. 14. She reported the incident three days later.
13 ON YOUR SIDE obtained a police report related to the incident.
The woman says she saw a man sitting on a staff picnic table on her way into work. He was wearing a State of Michigan face mask and waved at her.
She says the man was one of her patients in her workday, who identified himself as John Bizon.
As the woman recommended medication to Bizon, he began making unwanted physical contact with her. She told police she was too shocked to tell the man to stop.
Bizon then wanted the nurse practitioner to order medication for him. When she told him no, he got visibly angry and repeatedly told her he was disappointed in her.
The woman told her coworker of the incident, who reported a similar experience. The other staff member said the man also made unwanted physical contact and inappropriate comments.
The nurse practitioner reported the incident to the hospital's human resources department, who advised her to call the police. She is now pressing charges against Bizon.
Some are calling on Bizon to resign if the allegations are true.
“No person should be subjected to assault in their workplace, and after the ongoing trauma and exhaustion that health care workers have faced over the past two years, Sen. Bizon’s alleged behavior toward these medical professionals is particularly appalling," says Dr. Farhan Bhatti, a family physician in Lansing and the Michigan state lead for the Committee to Protect Health Care.
"As a former practicing physician, Sen. Bizon knows better than to inappropriately touch others in an exam room," Bhatti says.
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