How Our Hospital Put a Life In Danger — Could Advocacy Have Helped?
Photo by Jake Espedido on Unsplash.
For all of the people who call me (and all of the ones who don’t), hopefully this story gives you a little validation. Our local hospital, Providence St. Joseph Eureka, is getting sued by the State of California, for failure to provide appropriate care to a woman during an emergency.
The story made national news yesterday, though I just heard about it this morning. There’s a good chance it will continue to be in the news as the court case develops.
For full coverage, see: https://youtu.be/h5iCAQpfQYE?si=hAHLM_K6D1A6T5N5&t=94 (independent, national news show that is totally online – I’ve been watching for years. Please be aware of swearing in another part of this video.)
For the CBS Sacramento story, see: https://youtu.be/29fkFseKW_k?si=Kh9nBn0Ef-jo3I8b (Of note, they did feature a “legal expert” who seems to be willing to at least speak up against this hospital. Also, to my knowledge, Mad River Hospital WILL REMAIN OPEN, but they are closing their labor and delivery unit.)
As far as I can tell, the hospital policies prevented the doctors from performing the care they knew this woman needed to save her life because she needed an abortion. However, it sounds like the emergency physician was able to give the correct advice from the fuller coverage (i.e. – you can’t drive 5 hours, we can’t help you within the system here, so what else might you want to do?). I suspect they weren’t allowed to/didn’t feel safe enough with their employer to say outright that she should just go to Mad River, but I’m sure glad that is what happened.
One question I think about in these stories is – would having a patient advocate in the room make a difference?
In this case – maybe. Now I likely wouldn’t have been able to get St. Joe’s to do the procedure. So far, it looks like the legal system is going to be required for that. I don’t blame the physicians here who were likely afraid of losing their jobs and being blacklisted from future employment. I (probably) wouldn’t have been able to make her insurance cover the helicopter ride to UCSF (though I think they should be covering emergency transport in all policies; I can’t say for sure with all of the complexities of insurance rules.)
What I could have done is provide some reassurance in the moment that there was nothing that this family did wrong. I could tell them, in the moment, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that they were not receiving the standard of care. They were not getting acceptable healthcare. I would have been happy to tell their nurses and doctors this (which they likely already knew) and “been the bad guy.” But the real benefit, would be that I would usually be the first person in the room to say: “why not go to Mad River?”
I would have also been able to accompany them and help relay important information. Because independent advocates aren’t tied to any one system, we are able to work with all of them – and recommend things that may be in the best interest of our clients (the patient) even if they aren’t in the best interest of the hospital. (like leaving) I’m also around to help with things like writing complaint letters or statements after the fact.
If you’re interested in hearing about how to stay safe in the hospital during pregnancy and delivery, let me know! I’m working on a new presentation about this. Also, I offer free consults to help you figure out if advocacy services could be helpful to you. Get in touch!
Of course, the other question I think about is – will this change how Providence St. Joseph operates?
That question has an even longer answer, so I’ll address it in another post. But, suffice it to say, I’m hopeful! I think it is difficult, but not impossible to overcome the inertia of the healthcare system.
If you happen to be a person who has an idea about how to fix healthcare and want help writing about it, let me know! I’m a great writing coach and editor, and I’d be honored to help you change the world.