Victims of Cedars

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After having had some bad hospital experiences I felt uncomfortable with going to doctors in general. But then, when I heard this story, I realized there is something wrong with the world these days, when things like this can happen in a hospital, a place where we go to be healed! I want to know if this is happening to others and where. Please read the story, and let me know what your experiences have been and what you think.

"Victim of Cedars"

My husband “Frank” and I had the perfect marriage (names changed for privacy). He was my soul mate, best friend, and protector. He was my world, and I his. Several years after we were married, Frank developed asthma. During his rare asthma attacks he would have breathing difficulty that sent him to the emergency room. We always went to Cedars-Sinai because Frank’s doctor worked out of that hospital and it was close to our home. Typically, quick intervention at the onset of an asthma attack will prevent further complications. In January 2001, Frank was having difficulty breathing so we went to Cedar’s emergency room. After hours of waiting, he was finally treated for his asthma by respiratory technicians, who discovered that he had a slight case of pneumonia and a “sodium imbalance”. He was admitted “as a precaution” and both were treated successfully. But twelve days later, he was dead…

His doctor said he did not know what happened, that Frank was doing fine. The nurse told me that Frank “wasn’t that sick”. So why did he die?

Frank was 73 years old. He was a big man in many ways. He had a heart bigger than the whole universe. At 6’3’ and 230 lbs., he was a large man in the literal sense as well. He logged a lifetime of physical activities, including lots of golf. Because of his size, we hired a male caregiver to assist him. It was also the caregiver’s job to call the nurse should Frank need help.

On the day that Frank died, a Saturday, I noticed there weren’t very many nurses on the floor and I commented on this. The nurse I spoke with said that everyone was out with the flu. However, she seemed unconcerned. Later, when Frank had difficulty breathing, his nurse refused to respond to the caregiver’s plea for help. I had to call the doctor on his private line before anyone responded to Frank’s medical condition.

With asthmatics, no matter what age, immediate intervention can prevent death… whether the patient is 7 years old, 15, 30, or 70. If the asthmatic is not attended to, the effect is like pulling a fish out of water.

I was at the hospital three times that Saturday to make sure that Frank was getting the medical attention he had been admitted to the hospital specifically to receive. The last time I spoke with Frank, he told me he was exhausted with the effort to call a nurse that simply was not responding. Not even the caregiver was able to get the nurse to respond.

The hospital uses warm and fuzzy radio ads to lull the public into believing that it gives quality care, but that was not my husband’s experience. If he were here today, he would tell you the horror of his last moments – gasping for breath – while his nurse did nothing. He would tell you how he regretted believing those marketing campaigns, regretted putting his faith in a place that, rather than living up to their “reputation” has instead allowed him to die an unnecessary death!

Now the hospital excuses itself by saying “he was very sick and would have died anyway.” If that were so, why was I told differently? I should have been told there weren’t enough nurses to care for him. I would have taken him someplace else to get care. If he were truly so sick he would have died anyway, why would they not let him go home so he could be with loved ones and in the comfort of his own home for his final hours? They told me he “wasn’t that sick”, that he was “doing fine”. Were they lying then, or are they lying now?

This is managed care in California. If you are over 65 years old, the hospital is glad to take your Medicare money, but you get no care in return if you are not careful. Shopping for a hospital nowadays is like shopping for anything else. In the case of Cedars-Sinai, let the “Buyer Beware!”

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