MEDICAL MALPRACTICE IN ABILENE, TEXAS = DEATH

ABILENE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER

2011-03-03T05:38:00.002-06:00

Will wait for the results of the investigation.

Officials Indicted

2011-01-13T19:20:00.002-06:00

Winkler County Officials Indicted

Posted: Jan 13, 2011 6:40 PM CST

KERMIT - Two public officials and a former hospital administrator have been indicted by a Grand Jury for allegedly conspiring against two former nurses who made complaint about a Kermit doctor.

Winkler County Sheriff Robert Roberts, County Attorney Scott Tidwell and former Winkler County Hospital Administrator Stan Wiley all face two counts each of Misuse of Official Information, Retaliation of a Witness and Official Oppression.

This all come after several years of controversy at the Winkler County Hospital.

The two former nurses, Vickie Galle and Anne Mitchell were arrested back in 2009 and charged with sending confidential documents to state officials to report the practices of Dr. Rolando Arafiles. Mitchell was cleared of any wronging in court and charges were dropped against Galle. The two nurses then turned around and filed a civil suit against all the parties involved. The nurses claim Arafiles and the county officials conspired to stop their complaints.

Arafiles was arrested last month on the same charges. He bonded out of jail and is still working at the hospital.

County Attorney Scott Tidwell tells NewsWest9 he will likely turn himself in to authorities tomorrow morning. He also says he will be getting an attorney and fighting the charges.

ABILENE REPORTER NEWS AND OTHER ABILENE MEDIA

2010-09-21T05:28:00.000-05:00

THE ABILENE MEDIA CONTINUES TO REFUSE TO REPORT ON LOCAL DOCTORS BEING DISCIPLINED BY THE TEXAS MEDICAL BOARD.
WHILE IN DALLAS, THE LOCAL TV NEWS STATION REPORTED DR.BEAU LAWSON MCCRORY WAS RECENTLY INVESTIGATED BY THE TEXAS MEDICAL BOARD.

Action Date: 08/27/2010

Description: ON AUGUST 27, 2010, THE BOARD AND BEAU LAWSON MCCRORY, M.D., ENTERED INTO AN AGREED ORDER PUBLICLY REPRIMANDING DR. MCCRORY AND REQUIRING DR. MCCRORY COMPLETE WITHIN ONE YEAR 32 HOURS OF CME INCLUDING EIGHT HOURS IN TREATING PAIN, EIGHT HOURS IN TREATING ANXIETY, EIGHT HOURS IN TREATING SLEEP DISORDERS AND EIGHT HOURS IN RISK MANAGEMENT; AND PAY AN ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTY OF $3,000 WITHIN 90 DAYS. THE ORDER WAS BASED UPON DR. MCCRORY'S TREATMENT OF SIX PATIENTS IN THE CONTEXT OF A RETAINER PRACTICE AND HIS FAILURE TO DOCUMENT A CHRONIC PAIN TREATMENT PLAN AND FAILURE TO DISCUSS WITH A PATIENT THE RISKS AND BENEFITS OF USING A CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE TO TREAT CHRONIC PAIN; FAILURE TO MEET THE STANDARD OF CARE; NONTHERAPEUTIC PRESCRIBING; AND BECOMING FINANCIALLY OR PERSONALLY INVOLVED WITH A PATIENT IN AN INAPPROPRIATE MANNER.

Action Date: 04/07/2006

Description: ON APRIL 7, 2006, THE BOARD AND DR. MCCRORY ENTERED INTO AN AGREED ORDER REQUIRING DR. MCCRORY TO COMPLETE 10 HOURS OF CONTINUING MEDICAL EDUCATION IN MEDICAL RECORD-KEEPING AND PROHIBITING HIM FROM PERFORMING NON-EMERGENCY GYNECOLOGICAL SURGERY UNTIL SUCH TIME AS HE OBTAINS ADDITIONAL TRAINING OR OTHERWISE DEMONSTRATES TO THE BOARD THAT HE IS QUALIFIED FOR SUCH SURGERY. THE ACTION WAS BASED ON ALLEGATIONS THAT DR. MCCORY FAILED TO MEET THE STANDARD OF CARE FOR ONE PATIENT BY NOT MAINTAINING ADEQUATE MEDICAL RECORDS, BY UNDERTAKING SURGERY WITHOUT GIVING SUFFICIENT TIME FOR IRON SUPPLEMENTS TO WORK, BY FAILING TO DISCUSS WITH THE PATIENT OTHER AVAILABLE TREATMENT OPTIONS, BY FAILING TO ADEQUATELY DISCLOSE THAT HE HAD NOT BEEN FORMALLY TRAINED IN OBSTETRICS/GYNECOLOGY, BY FAILING TO PERFORM AN ENDOMETRIAL BIOPSY PRIOR TO SURGERY, BY ORDERING A BLOOD TRANSFUSION IN AN OTHERWISE HEALTHY WOMN AND BY CONTINUING SURGERY ONCE THE PELVIC ADHESIONS PRESENTED A SIGNIFICANT PROBLEM.

I CONTACTED ABILENE REPORTER NEWS AND ASKED WHY THEY REFUSE TO AIR THIS STORY. THEY DID NOT HAVE A COMMENT AND ENDED THE CALL.

DR. HEADSTREAM AND ABILENE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER

2010-02-12T09:29:00.003-06:00

IT APPEARS DR. HEADSTREAM HAS KICKED NUMEROUS PHYSICIANS OUT OF HIS BUILDING NEAR ARMC.
THE PEOPLE I HAVE SPOKEN TO SAY HE IS EXTREMELY ARROGANT AND IMPOSSIBLE TO WORK WITH OR REMAIN A BUSINESS PARTNER WITH.
I AM CERTAIN WHAT GOES AROUND, COMES AROUND. I CAN'T WAIT FOR T. HEADSTREAM TO PAY THE PRICE FOR ALL HE HAS DONE TO OTHERS.

SAME OLE ABILENE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER

2009-12-30T06:59:00.002-06:00

I HAVE HEARD FROM NUMEROUS PATIENTS WHO HAVE ENTERED THE ER AT ABILENE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER FOR TREATMENT AND TOLD TO LEAVE IF THEY DIDN'T HAVE INSURANCE OR CASH ON HAND.
IT IS ALL ABOUT THE MONEY FOR ARMC AND ALWAYS WILL BE.

DR. HEADSTREAM AND OTHER ABILENE, TEXAS PHYSICIANS

2009-10-20T13:05:00.002-05:00

IN REFERENCE TO THE LAST REPLY WHICH WAS POSTED ANONYMOUS. I AGREE, ABILENE IS NOT A DECENT PLACE FOR MEDICAL CARE.
THERE ARE A FEW GOOD DOCTORS HERE, BUT SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE ABOUT THOSE THAT ARE NOT. TROUBLE IS, IT SEEMS MOST ABILENE RESIDENTS WILL BACK A DOCTOR NO MATTER HOW BAD OR HOW MANY COMPLAINTS HE HAS AGAINST HIM.
I HEAR OFTEN THAT DR. HEADSTREAM IS A GOOD DOCTOR BUT HIS BEDSIDE MANNERS ARE HORRIBLE. I DO NOT WANT THIS PERSON ANYWHERE NEAR ME NO MATTER HOW GOOD HE IS.
HE THREATENED ME IN THE CRITICAL CARE UNIT AT ABILENE REGIONAL WHEN MY MOTHER WAS IN EXTREMELY CRITICAL CONDITION. I AM CERTAIN HIS MALE PARTS ARE NOT BIG ENOUGH TO APPROACH ME OUTSIDE OF THE HOSPITAL SETTING AND DO WHAT HE DID ON THAT PARTICULAR DAY.

TEXAS MEDICAL BOARD IS A JOKE

2009-10-11T10:52:00.002-05:00

THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS HAS A GREAT ARTICLE ON THE TEXAS MEDICAL BOARD.
I HAVE PRESENTED OUR CASE FOUR TIMES TO THE TMB. EACH TIME, THE BOARD, MAINLY PHYSICIANS, FAILED TO TAKE ACTION AGAINST THE PHYSICIANS WE HAD COMPLAINED ON.
DURING ONE PRESENTATION, ONE PHYSICIAN APPEARED TO BE SLEEPING.

PLEASE SEE THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS:

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/101109dnpromedboard.42491dd.html

ABILENE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER AND ABILENE REPORTER NEWS

2009-08-30T19:49:00.003-05:00

I RECEIVED AN EMAIL FROM A LADY LIVING IN DALLAS, TEXAS WHO WAS VERY THANKFUL FOR THIS WEBSITE. SHE HAD HER OWN EXPERIENCES AT ABILENE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER AWHILE BACK WHICH SOUNDED ALL TOO FAMILIAR. IT IS A SHAME THIS HOSPITAL IS ALLOWED TO CONTINUE OPERATING WITH SUCH HORRIBLE STAFF AND PHYSICIANS.
ONE THING WE HAVE ACCOMPLISHED IS FORCING ONE PHYSICIAN TO LEAVE THIS AREA. DR. JOHN GULLETT PACKED UP AND LEFT SHORTLY AFTER HIS LIES AND OTHER PATHETIC BEHAVIOR WAS MADE PUBLIC. HOPEFULLY WE CAN FORCE THE OTHERS TO LEAVE IN THE FUTURE.
THE ABILENE REPORTER NEWS CONTINUES TO DISREGARD WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THEIR OWN BACKYARD WITH ABILENE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER. IT IS NO SECRET ARMC PAYS THE ARN ALOT OF MONEY FOR ADVERTISING SO IT IS UNDERSTANDABLE. AT LEAST ARN IS NOT GETTING ONE CENT FROM ME.
THANKS FOR ALL THE EMAILS OF ENCOURAGEMENT.

IT HAPPENS MORE OFTEN THAN WE REALIZE

2009-08-22T13:39:00.002-05:00

Crucial medical records 'concealed' after deaths at Texas hospital‏

http://www.khou.com/news/local/houstonmetro/stories/khou090504_mp_medical-records-missing.1d7cb82f.html
Comments 57 Recommend 60
Crucial medical records 'concealed' after deaths at local hospital
10:27 AM CDT on Tuesday, May 12, 2009
By Mark Greenblatt / 11 News Defenders
HOUSTON -- The death of a loved one is unbelievably hard to bear, especially when it is sudden and unexpected.
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It is perhaps even harder when the patient is in the hospital for a supposedly minor condition.
When something like this happens, the first place people often look is at the patient’s medical record. This is the official history of your health and treatment.
However, a three-month KHOU-TV investigation has found evidence of what may be a national problem when it comes to medical records. It seems that some nurses, doctors and administrators have concealed, faked and even destroyed these documents when trouble happens.
Linda Carswell says she knows all about it.
She claims she often wakes up in the middle of the night, trembling and alone. She thinks about her husband, Jerry, and the 33 years of romance and marriage they shared together.
“(I knew) after the first kiss, I guess,” Carswell said. “He was definitely a romantic.”
As a high school coach, Jerry Carswell helped mentor students and develop some of them into professional athletes, like NFL star Bert Emanuel, who would later call Carswell the “best coach ever.”
But one morning, things took an abrupt turn.
“He woke up and told me that something was wrong,” Carswell said.
The couple visited Christus St. Catherine Hospital for what seemed like a minor problem to them.
“They diagnosed it pretty quickly. It was a kidney stone,” Carswell said.
Jerry decided to stay at St. Catherine’s for a few days, hoping for the stone to pass. Eventually, he sent his wife home.
“(He said) there's no reason for you to stay here. I’ll be fine,” she said.
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Early the next morning, the phone rang. Linda says a representative from the hospital asked her to come there immediately because an emergency had developed.
Within minutes of her arrival, her life changed forever.
“The nurse looked at me and said, ‘your husband is dead.’ Just like that,” Carswell recalls. “I said, ‘What? What happened? What happened?’”
Rickey Dorriety says he is asking the same question now.
His wife of more than 30 years, Melissa, checked into Christus St. Catherine for diabetes problems. He says he, too, saw no signs to make him worry.
“We were told Melissa was going home the next morning,” Dorriety said.
The next morning, he and his son stopped at the bagel store so they could deliver breakfast to Melissa.
When they walked into her room, Dorriety says he and his son discovered something horrible.
“I said, ‘Come on, wake up sleepy head.’ And nothing happened. She had a tear running out of her right eye,” Dorriety said.
Soon after, Melissa Dorriety died.
“She won't be able to hold her future grandson,” Dorriety said. “That...that hurts so bad.”
Dorriety filed a lawsuit against Christus St. Catherine to look for answers. But after his attorney subpoenaed for Melissa’s medical documents, Dorriety's attorney claims an important document came up missing.
It was the nurse’s worksheet showing Melissa’s condition, including the original medical notes made about her.
Nearly one year later, after KHOU-TV contacted Christus St. Catherine to ask about both the case and the missing document, the missing worksheet finally showed up.
“It’s a hospital system that apparently thinks they can get away from being held accountable,” Dorriety’s attorney Jim Perdue said. “That may be one thing in an isolated legal case, but not when you see it happening again and again and again.”
There is also the case of Sharon Rogers.
After she died at Christus St. Catherine, a malpractice suit was filed. But a section of her vital sign records during critical hours of her care could not be found.
We asked Pat Iyer, a former nurse and an expert consultant on medical records, about the cases. She says the hospital should know to preserve and maintain all medical related documents after an unexpected death.
“That information should be saved for future use and looked at,” Iyer said.
KHOU also found evidence of similar accusations regarding various hospitals around the country. These hospitals have no affiliation of any kind to the Christus organization.

AP photo
In one landmark case, a surgeon in New Jersey removed the wrong lung from a patient. He then changed the medical record afterwards, so it appeared he had in fact taken out the correct lung.
In fact, New Jersey has criminalized altering or destroying medical records, but in Texas, there is no such law.
KHOU also discovered the Texas Department of Health could not find a record of investigating a single allegation related to concealing or tampering with medical records at any hospital in the state.
The Department of Health declined an on camera interview with KHOU to explain more, but did write this in an email: “We have not had any formal regulatory investigations about that topic in recent history.”
It makes Linda Carswell feel like the system is set up to protect hospitals, not patients.
“I knew something had happened that they weren't telling me,” she said about the hospital.
She also says she wanted the public medical examiner to do an autopsy on her husband’s body, but was told by the hospital that the medical examiner declined her request.
“I believe Harris County would have done the kind autopsy that would have looked for reasons for his death,” Carswell said.
Carswell agreed to let Christus have another hospital do the exam instead, but she says later she discovered that other hospital was also owned by Christus. She also didn’t get a complete autopsy like she wanted.
She also claims that a sample of her husband’s body fluids disappeared, after she says she asked for them to be saved. She says they were fluids which could have been tested.
Next, she says she learned that Harris County officials could not find any record of Christus ever calling them to perform her husband’s autopsy.
The worst news, though, came nearly two years after Jerry had been buried.
“They had kept, secretly, Jerry’s heart,” Carswell says.
After Carswell filed suit, under sworn questions, the autopsy doctors said they had removed her husband’s heart and stored it in a container.
But when the questioning turned to who knew about the decision to remove the heart, the doctor admitted that they didn’t tell Carswell they were taking out the organ.
“I don't recall telling anyone,” said the doctor.
Recently, a judge issued a rare $250,000 sanction against Christus St. Catherine’s, ruling that the hospital “improperly concealed the heart tissue of Jerry Carswell in a Christus pathology laboratory.”
The sanction further said the hospital also concealed blood samples, and determined that Linda Carswell’s case against the hospital had been “severely prejudiced” due to the “improper concealment of critical physical evidence.”
The Christus health organization and its attorney declined an on-the-record interview with KHOU-TV, but did give this statement:
“We are deeply saddened whenever a family loses a loved one to disease and illness. Our hospital is committed to fulfilling our mission and serving our community by providing high quality, compassionate health care to our patients. While we wish we could fully respond, we think it best to handle such delicate, complex matters in an appropriate venue where the facts and full context can be carefully deliberated.”
WATCH THE VIDEO:
http://www.khou.com/video/index.html?nvid=358311
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http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=2009_4686410
Houston Chronicle Tue 01/06/2009
Sanctions against Katy hospital upheld / Wife of coach suing over how his body was treated after his deathBy BRIAN ROGERSStaff
Almost five years after the death of a former state champion track coach, an appeals court has upheld a Harris County judge's $250,000 sanction against the Katy hospital where he was admitted for treatment of kidney stones.
The judge fined Christus St. Catherine Hospital, saying officials there withheld evidence in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of Jerry Carswell. Attorneys of the family also have accused the hospital of hiding Carwell's heart.
Houston's 1st Court of Appeals upheld the sanctions last week. The hospital could appeal the ruling to the Texas Supreme Court.
Christa Clifton, a spokeswoman for Christus St. Catherine, declined to comment on the matter because it remains in litigation.
Attorneys for the hospital did not return calls from the Houston Chronicle on Monday.
Carswell, whose Langham Creek High School team won the state title in 1997, died Jan. 22, 2004, at age 61.
He was in the hospital for two nights for treatment of kidney stones but died after being injected with narcotics, according to court documents.
"He was supposed to come home that morning," said his widow, Linda Carswell.
She is suing for wrongful death and breach of contract in connection with how her husband was treated after his death, said her attorney, Carl Shaw.
Although Texas law caps a wrongful death lawsuit at $250,000, Carswell could be awarded millions if jurors want to punish the hospital for breach of contract, Shaw said.
Carswell said the most difficult part of the case was discovering 18 months after filing suit that her husband had been buried without his heart.
"I've been shocked at the lengths a hospital will go to to cover up a death that is their fault," Carswell said. "Hospitals are institutes that we trust. To see what has been done here, the complete lack of care, has been devastating."
Shaw said the heart was removed during an autopsy at another Christus hospital. He said he expected hospital experts to tell jurors that Carswell died from heart problems, "even though he never had any problems with his heart before."
The heart has yet to be returned to Carswell.

TEXAS MEDICAL BOARD

2009-07-26T22:26:00.002-05:00

THE TEXAS MEDICAL BOARD CLAIMS THEY ARE STILL INVESTIGATING THE PHYSICIAN I FILED A COMPLAINT ON.
PROBLEM IS, THESE ARE DOCTORS INVESTIGATING DOCTORS. THERE HAS TO BE A BETTER SYSTEM THAN WHAT WE HAVE AT THIS TIME.

TEXAS MEDICAL BOARD

2009-06-09T05:49:00.002-05:00

IN AUGUST I WILL BE IN AUSTIN, TEXAS APPEARING BEFORE THE TEXAS MEDICAL BOARD IN REFERENCE TO DR. JACK BARGAINER. I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR FROM OTHER PATIENTS OF DR. BARGAINER AND OTHER CARDIOLOGIST IN THE SAME OFFICE.

PROCRIT CONTINUES TO KILL

2009-05-06T08:43:00.004-05:00

IT IS UNBELIEVABLE PHYSICIANS AND DRUG COMPANIES CONTINUE TO MAKE MILLIONS WHILE KILLING INNOCENT PEOPLE.
IT IS TIME FOR THE PUBLIC TO BECOME MORE AWARE OF THE DANGERS OF THIS DRUG.
IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW IS CURRENTLY USING THIS DRUG, MONITOR CLOSELY FOR SIDE EFFECTS BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.
READ THE FDA WARNING ABOUT THIS DRUG.
PROCRITS OWN WEBSITE HAS A WARNING ABOUT THE DANGERS OF THIS DRUG.
IT IS TIME THE PHYSICIANS STOP HARMING AND KILLING PATIENTS JUST TO MAKE A FORTUNE.

NURSE AT ARMC

2009-03-29T12:19:00.003-05:00

I HAVE RECENTLY HAD A CONVERSATION WITH A NURSE AT ABILENE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER.
THE NIGHT OUR MOTHER RECEIVED THE INJECTION OF PROCRIT AGAINST HER WISHES AT 11:00PM, SHE WAS NOT MONITORED OR OBSERVED UNTIL THE DAY SHIFT ARRIVED THE FOLLOWING MORNING. AT THAT TIME OUR MOTHER WAS HALFWAY OUT OF BED AND APPEARED TO BE ATTEMPTING TO GET HELP. SHE MAY HAVE STRUGGLED THE ENTIRE NIGHT. THIS IS VERY DISTURBING.
I CAN SEE WHY ABILENE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER HAS REFUSED TO REPLY TO MY REQUEST TO SPEAK WITH THEM. I AM SURE THEY KNOW THEIR DOORS SHOULD BE CLOSED FOREVER. AND SOMEDAY THAT WILL HAPPEN.
THE ADMINISTRATION AND THEIR ATTORNEY, JOHN SERPE CONTINUE TO LIE WHEN THEY DO SPEAK.
I HOPE THE WORD GETS OUT TO EVERYONE TO AVOID THIS VERY DANGEROUS HOSPITAL.

JOHN HUNGERFORD GULLETT

2009-03-15T17:05:00.002-05:00

I BELIEVE OUR HARD WORK HAS PAID OFF. THIS LYING PHYSICIAN HAS QUIETLY PACKED UP AND LEFT ABILENE.
DID THE STATE OF TEXAS INVESTIGATE HIM? DID THEY FIND SOMETHING?
I RECEIVED A LETTER FROM THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT THANKING ME FOR THE INFORMATION I PROVIDED THEM.
I WILL BE CONTACTING THE DEPARTMENT THIS WEEK.
THE CITY OF ABILENE SHOULD BE THANKFUL THIS PHYSICIAN IS NO LONGER IN ABILENE.

ANOTHER VICTIM OF ABILENE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER

2009-03-04T07:07:00.003-06:00

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!! THIS HOSPITAL MUST BE STOPPED. I WILL ATTEMPT TO TALK TO THE FAMILY OF THE MOST RECENT VICTIM.
I WILL POST DETAILS IF THE FAMILY APPROVES.

THE FAMILY DOES NOT WISH TO GO PUBLIC.

BOTTOM LINE IS: ANOTHER MISTAKE RESULTS IN A DEATH AT ABILENE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER.

ARMC CONTINUES TO HARM INNOCENT PATIENTS

2009-03-03T05:53:00.002-06:00

ONCE AGAIN I WAS CONTACTED ABOUT AN ERROR MADE AT ARMC RECENTLY WHICH ENDED UP WITH A PATIENT IN CCU IN A COMA.
ARMC WILL CONTINUE AS LONG AS THE PUBLIC IS SCARED TO COME FORWARD AND LET THIS BE KNOWN.
IT IS FRUSTRATING TO HEAR ALL THE CASES I HAVE HEARD AND HAVE MOST OF THEM SAYING, "I DON'T WANT MY NAME MENTIONED." ALTHOUGH I RESPECT EVERYONE'S DECISION TO REMAIN ANONYMOUS, THIS WILL ONLY ALLOW ARMC TO CONTINUE WITH THEIR VERY POOR PATIENT CARE.
WE HAVE A CHANCE TO MAKE CHANGES BUT IT WILL TAKE MORE VICTIMS COMING FORWARD TO MAKE THIS PUBLIC.

DR. JOHN HUNGERFORD GULLETT

2009-02-25T22:08:00.003-06:00

I AM CURIOUS AS TO WHY JOHN RETIRED VERY SUDDENLY AND QUIETLY AT THE END OF DECEMBER 2008.
IT IS A COMFORT KNOWING THERE WILL BE NO ADDITIONAL VICTIMS OF THE DOCTOR.

TEXAS MEDICAL BOARD

2009-02-18T12:54:00.003-06:00

I HAVE A MEETING WITH THE TEXAS MEDICAL BOARD THE FIRST WEEK OF APRIL. I WOULD APPRECIATE ANY INFORMATION THAT CAN BE SENT TO ME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE REGARDING THE PHYSICIANS AND/OR HOSPITAL MENTIONED ON THIS SITE.
YOUR NAME WILL BE KEPT CONFIDENTIAL IF REQUESTED.

PHYSICIANS STICK TOGETHER

2008-11-30T08:08:00.013-06:00

WHEN OUR MOTHER WAS FLOWN TO ARMC IN MAY 2007, WE WERE TOLD THERE WAS NO BED AVAILABLE AT HENDRICK.
ONCE AT ARMC WE WERE TOLD THERE WAS NO CHANCE OF HER MAKING IT THROUGH THE NIGHT.
THE CCU PHYSICIAN, DR. PATE, LIFTED HER HEAD UP OFF HER PILLOW, SHINED A SMALL FLASHLIGHT INTO HER EYES AND SAID, "SEE, SHE IS ALREADY GONE." HE THEN LET HER HEAD FALL BACK ONTO THE PILLOW. HE DID THIS WITH MY SISTER AND I IN THE ROOM.
NOT ONLY DID SHE SURVIVE OVER NIGHT, SHE TOLD US THE NEXT DAY SHE HEARD EVERYTHING DR. PATE WAS TELLING US.
IN THE WAITING ROOM WE HEARD A NUMBER OF FAMILIES COMMENTING ON DR. PATE HAVING THE PERSONALITY OF A FENCE POST. (I AM AWARE DR. PATE IS A HENDRICK PHYSICIAN)
WITHIN A FEW DAYS, HER CARDIOLOGIST FOR MANY YEARS, DR. BARGAINER VISITED HER AND SAID HE WASN'T SURE WHAT HAD HAPPENED. WE DISCUSSED THE DRUG PROCRIT SHE HAD RECEIVED AND HE STATED, "WE WANT TO MAKE SURE SHE DOESN'T RECEIVE THAT DRUG AGAIN."
OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL WEEKS AS HER ONDITION IMPROVED, SHE WAS MOVED TO THE FIFTH FLOOR AT ARMC.
DURING THIS TIME THE PHSYICIAN AND NURSES WERE REMINDED DAILY SHE WAS NOT TO RECEIVE THE PROCRIT DRUG AGAIN. HER CHART WAS CLEARLY MARKED AS WELL.
AFTER VISITING OUR MOTHER ON A DAILY BASIS, HER CONDITION IMPROVED EACH DAY. THEN ON A FRIDAY IN JUNE, SHE APPEARED VERY CONFUSED, NO APPETITE, AND WAS HAVING SEVERE STOMACH PROBLEMS. (WE DID NOT REALIZE AT THIS TIME THAT SHE HAD RECEIVED THE PROCRIT DRUG THE NIGHT BEFORE AT 11:00pm.)
OUR MOTHER WAS RUSHED BACK TO CCU A SHORT TIME LATER. IT WAS AT THIS TIME THAT WE LEARNED SHE HAD RECEIVED THE DRUG AGAIN ALTHOUGH SHE HAD REPEATEDLY TOLD THEM NOT TO GIVE IT TO HER AGAIN.
THE CCU PHYSICIAN AT THIS TIME WAS DR. HEADSTREAM. WHEN I ASKED DR. HEADSTREAM ABOUT THE PROCRIT DRUG BEING GIVEN AGAIN, HE GOT WITHIN TWO INCHES OF MY FACE AND YELLED, "YOU CAN HIRE ALL THE GOD DAMN ATTORNEYS YOU WANT. IT WON'T DO ANY GOOD." AS MENTIONED EARLIER, THIS WAS WITNESSED BY EMPLOYEES OF ABILENE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER. MY SISTER AND I WERE ESCORTED TO THE ADMINISTRATION OFFICE WHERE WE WERE INSTRUCTED TO FILE A COMPLAINT AGAINST DR. HEADSTREAM. WE WERE ALSO INFORMED HE HAS A HISTORY OF THIS BEHAVIOR BUT IT IS USUALLY NURSES FILING COMPLAINTS AGAINST HIM.
AFTER COMPLETING THE COMPLAINT FORM, MY SISTER AND I RETURNED TO THE CCU AREA. I CONTACTED DR. HIRSCH FROM HENDRICK AND INFORMED HIM OF WHAT WAS GOING ON. (SHE DID NOT HAVE CANCER)
DR. HIRSCH ARRIVED AT ARMC AND IMMEDIATLY STATED, "I AM SORRY. SHE HAS HAD A SEVERE REACTION TO THE PROCRIT. I AM SUPPOSED TO BE ON VACATION (JULY 4TH WEEK) BUT I AM GOING TO STAY HERE AND SEE WHAT I CAN DO. LETS GIVE IT A FEW DAYS AND LET THE PROCRIT GET OUT OF HER SYSTEM."
DR. HIRSCH THEN WALKED INTO THE CCU ROOM WHERE HE WAS SEEN TALKING TO DR. HEADSTREAM. WE WERE LATER TOLD BY A NURSE THAT THEIR CONVERSATION WAS VERY HEATED.
I IMMEDIATELY RECEIVED A PHONE CALL ON MY CELL PHONE FROM DR. HIRSCH AND HE SAID, "I KNOW I CAN NEVER CONVINCE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY BUT THE PROCRIT DRUG DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THIS."
MY SISTER AND I THEN WALKED BACK INTO CCU TO THE NURSES STATION. DR. HEADSTREAM ASKED A NURSE TO HAND HIM OUR MOTHERS CHART. DR. HEADSTREAM WAS HANDED THE WRONG CHART AND HE THREW THE CHART DOWN ON THE DESK AND YELLED TO THE NURSE, "THAT IS THE WRONG GOD DAMN CHART." ONCE HE WAS HANDED THE CORRECT CHART, HE IMMEDIATELY TURNED TO A HANDWRITTEN NOTE BY DR. HIRSCH THEN SMILED. HE THEN SAID, "NOW, DO YOU HAVE ANY MORE QUESTIONS?"
AS OUR MOTHERS CONDITION BECAME WORSE, DR. GULLETT WALKED IN AND IMMEDIATELY STARTED TALKING ABOUT LAWSUITS AND WHY WE SHOULD NOT EVEN CONSIDER IT. I ASKED DR. GULLETT WHY HE AND DR. HEADSTREAM WERE CONTINUOUSLY TALKING ABOUT LAWSUITS AND REMINDED HIM WE HAVE NEVER EVEN MENTIONED LAWSUITS. DR. GULLETT THEN STATES, "MY MOTHER DIED THE SAME WAY YOUR MOTHER IS GOING TO." A FEW WEEKS LATER AN ARTICLE IN THE ABILENE REPORTER NEWS MENTIONED DR. GULLETTS MOTHER WAS VISITING ABILENE FROM ANOTHER STATE. DR. GULLETT FAILED TO RETURN MY PHONE CALLS AS I HAD A QUESTION FOR HIM.
OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS, WE REQUESTED TO MEET WITH ALL THE PHYSICIANS TOGETHER. THE SOCIAL WORKER, LINDA SPEEGLE DID A GREAT JOB OF PLANNING THIS MEETING. HOWEVER, EACH DOCTOR REFUSED TO MEET TOGETHER WITH US. WHEN WE CONTINUED TO REQUEST A MEETING, THEY CAME AND TALKED TO US ONE AT AT TIME.
WE CONTINUED TO TRY TO GET OUR MOTHER TO HENDRICK MEDICAL CENTER BUT WAS REPEATEDLY TOLD, "THERE ARE TOO MANY POLITICS INVOLVED BETWEEN THE TWO HOSPITALS IN ABILENE. YOU ARE BETTER OFF HERE." THEY WOULD NOT LET US MOVE HER OUT OF ARMC. FINALLY, WE WERE ALLOWED TO TRANSFER HER TO BAYLOR IN DALLAS. BEFORE LEAVING FOR DALLAS, SHE SUDDENLY BECAME UNRESPONSIVE. SHE REMAINED THAT WAY THE ENTIRE STAY AT BAYLOR. THE PHYSICIAN AT BAYLOR STATED THERE WAS NOTHING HE COULD DO. HE THEN STATED, "IF THE DOCTOR IN ABILENE INJECTED HER WITH PROCRIT WHEN SHE TOLD THEM NOT TO, THEY DON'T HAVE A LEG TO STAND ON."
WE THEN MADE ARRANGEMENTS FOR HER TO BE TAKEN TO HENDRICK MEDICAL CENTER.
WHEN WE ARRIVED AT HENDRICK MEDICAL CENTER, DR. GULLETT WAS THE FIRST ONE TO GREET US, EVENTHOUGH HE HAD BEEN TOLD REPEATEDLY TO STAY AWAY. JOINING HIM WAS DR. FEHL, WHO HAD BEEN FIRED AND TOLD TO STAY AWAY ALSO. THEY WERE BOTH TOLD AGAIN TO LEAVE.
BEFORE LEAVING, DR. GULLETT STATED HE WAS LEAVING FOR A CAMPING TRIP TO CALIFORNIA AND IF I NEEDED HIM I COULD CALL A NUMBER HE GAVE ME AND THEY WOULD LEAVE A MESSAGE TIED TO AN OAK TREE DUE TO NOT BEING ABLE TO HAVE CELL PHONES IN THE AREA HE WAS CAMPING IN. (VERY STRANGE BUT TRUE)
I TOLD DR. GULLETT TO NOT BE EXPECTING ANY CALLS FROM ME.
MY SISTER AND I THEN TALKED TO THE NURSING SUPERVISOR AT HENDRICK AND WERE TOLD SHE WAS NOT A BIG FAN OF DR. GULLETT BUT THERE IS NOTHING SHE COULD DO TO STOP HIM FROM COMING TO THE CCU AREA.

TO BE CONTINUED AFTER TEXAS MEDICAL BOARD INVESTIGATION:

ABILENE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER: BE AWARE OF THIS HOSPITAL!

2008-11-26T06:12:00.005-06:00

I RECEIVED AN EMAIL FROM A CITIZEN WHO LIVES BETWEEN CISCO AND EASTLAND. SHE STATED SHE HAD A "RUN IN" WITH ABILENE REGIONAL NOT TOO LONG AGO. UP UNTIL NOW, SHE HAD NO IDEA OTHERS HAVE HAD PROBLEMS WITH THE SAME HOSPITAL.
I AM SURE THERE ARE MANY MORE VICTIMS LIKE HER. I PLAN TO TAKE FLYERS TO CISCO, EASTLAND, AND OTHER TOWNS AND COMMUNITIES AROUND ABILENE AND THE BIG COUNTRY TO MAKE THEM AWARE OF WHAT IS HAPPENING AT ABILENE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER.
ALSO, IN JANUARY 2009 I WILL BE RENTING ONE OR MORE BILLBOARDS IN ABILENE TO MAKE PEOPLE MORE AWARE.
I HAVE THE MESSAGE I WILL BE PLACING ON THE BILLBOARD BUT WOULD LIKE TO HEAR OTHER IDEAS AS WELL.

2008-11-21T09:49:00.003-06:00

NEXT MONTH AFTER MEETING WITH THE TEXAS MEDICAL BOARD, WE WILL BE MEETING WITH A STATE AGENCY IN AUSTIN. I WILL BE GIVING DETAILS OF OUR CASE AS WELL AS A NUMBER OF CASES THAT HAVE BEEN SENT TO ME.
I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR FROM MORE OF YOU THAT HAVE HAD BAD EXPERIENCES WITH ARMC. THE MORE CASES WE HAVE, THE BETTER CHANCE OF GETTING THE POINT ACROSS. YOU CAN REQUEST YOUR NAME NOT TO BE USED. JUST EXPLAIN WHAT THE CIRCUMSTANCES WERE.
I WILL ALSO PROVIDE THE AGENCY WITH THE AUDIO TAPE FROM THE ATTORNEY FOR ARMC ADMITTING THERE ARE A NUMBER OF PROBLEMS AT ARMC AND HOW HE PROMISED THEY WOULD BE MEETING WITH ME. OF COURSE, THEY NEVER HAVE.

ABILENE PHYSICIAN ANNOUNCES HE IS RETIRING

2008-11-10T18:22:00.004-06:00

ACCORDING TO THE ABILENE REPORTER NEWS, ONE OF THE PHYSICIANS INVOLVED IN OUR CASE AT ABILENE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER ANNOUNCED HE IS RETIRING AS OF LATE 2008.
THIS IS THE DOCTOR WHICH TOLD US THE HORRENDOUS LIE ABOUT HIS MOTHER PASSING AWAY UNDER THE SAME CONDITIONS AS OUR MOTHER WAS ABOUT TO. IT WAS LATER DISCOVERED HIS MOTHER IS ALIVE AND WELL.
WHAT ELSE HAS THIS PHYSICIAN LIED ABOUT? AND WHY THE SUDDEN DECISION TO RETIRE???? I BELIEVE WE KNOW WHY.
HIS IMPENDING RETIREMENT IS GOOD NEWS AS IT WILL KEEP ONE OF ABILENE'S WORST PHYSICIANS FROM HARMING OTHER PATIENTS.

ARMC PHYSICIAN HAS A HISTORY OF VERBALLY ASSAULTING PATIENTS AND FAMILIES

2008-11-04T21:07:00.004-06:00

OVER THE WEEKEND I MET WITH A LADY THAT WAS VERBALLY ASSAULTED BY THE SAME PHYSICIAN THAT ASSAULTED ME AT ABILENE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER. LIKE ME, SHE COMPLAINED TO THE ADMINISTRATION AT ARMC. AS IN OUR CASE, THEY DID NOTHING.
ARMC IS WELL AWARE OF THE ACTIONS AND BEHAVIOR OF THIS PHYSICIAN BUT CONTINUE TO PROTECT HIM.
THE MEDICAL MALPRACTICE CAP (PROP. 12) IN THE STATE OF TEXAS PUTS US ALL IN DANGER. THESE PHYSICIANS CAN DO WHATEVER THEY WANT AND TREAT PATIENTS AND FAMILIES HORRIBLE AS THEY KNOW NOTHING CAN BE DONE TO THEM. OUR CASE IS MORE THAN ENOUGH PROOF OF THIS.
THERE IS MUCH MORE TO THIS CASE THAT WILL BE MADE PUBLIC AFTER THE TMB COMPLETES THEIR INVESTIGATION.
I AM PLEADING WITH ANY EMPLOYEES OR FORMER EMPLOYEES WHO HAVE WITNESSED THIS PHYSICIANS BEHAVIOR TO CONTACT ME. YOUR IDENTITY WILL NOT BE MADE PUBLIC.

MORE VICITMS OF ARMC

2008-10-29T21:12:00.003-05:00

This week I have been contacted by two families who have suffered from bad experiences at Abilene Regional Medical Center. They have requested to remain annonymous.
When looking at all the cases, it is very clear Abilene Regional Medical Center is a VERY dangerous hospital.
The CEO of the hospital refuses to meet or talk with my family. Others have written and informed me of the same problem. ARMC's attorney from Houston continues to lie and not follow through on what he promised on two different phone calls. I have them both recorded.
I have a plan for January 2009. If any of you wish to meet and discuss this please contact me.
As I have promised ARMC before, this is NOT going away.
Your physicians gave a drug against a patients wishes (my mother) that resulted in death. Why are you refusing to discuss this????? We do not want money. My family only wants an explanation.

TEXAS MEDICAL BOARD

2008-10-18T09:22:00.005-05:00

We will be in Austin on December 11th presenting our case before the Texas Medical Board. This will be challenging due to the fact that the President of the Medical Board is from Abilene, Texas and knows the physician we have filed the complaint on very well. Also, our State Rep., Susan King, is from Abilene. Her husband is a physician in Abilene and is a close associate to the physician we have filed the complaint on. I have been informed Mrs. King serves on several committees that have close ties with the Texas Medical Board.
This will be difficult but I am confident we will succeed.

2008-09-13T10:02:00.003-05:00

A more detailed video is in the works and will be sent within a few weeks.

IN THE BEGINNING

2008-08-29T12:14:00.018-05:00

I received an email from a lady in California that wanted to hear this case from the beginning. I will be uploading the video as soon as the investigation is completed.

ON MAY 25, 2007, MY MOTHER RECEIVED AN INJECTION OF THE DRUG PROCRIT AT A DOCTORS OFFICE IN ABILENE, TEXAS. SHE LIVED IN SWEETWATER AT THE TIME AND I DROVE HER TO ABILENE TO THE DOCTOR'S OFFICE.
AFTER RECEIVING THE INJECTION, WE WERE ON OUR WAY BACK TO SWEETWATER TO HER RESIDENCE.
A FEW MILES OUTSIDE OF ABILENE, SHE BECAME VERY ILL WHICH REQUIRED ME TO STOP SEVERAL TIMES.
ONCE WE MADE IT TO HER RESIDENCE, SHE BECAME WORSE AND AN AMBULANCE WAS CALLED. SHE WAS TAKEN TO THE ROLLING PLAINS HOSPITAL IN SWEETWATER THEN LATER AIRLIFTED TO ABILENE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER IN ABILENE, TEXAS. SHE WAS PLACED ON THE VENTILATOR AND NOT EXPECTED TO LIVE OVERNIGHT. THE CCU PHYSICIAN WALKED INTO HER ROOM AND TOLD MY SISTER AND I SHE WAS ABOUT TO DIE. THE DOCTOR PICKED OUR MOTHER'S HEAD UP, SHINED A SMALL LIGHT INTO HER EYES AND SAID, "SEE, SHE IS ALREADY GONE." HE THEN LET HER HEAD VIOLENTLY FALL BACK ONTO THE PILLOW. MY FAMILY LEFT THE ROOM AT THIS TIME TO TALK.
AS WE THOUGHT SHE WAS ABOUT TO PASS AWAY AT ANY TIME, WE WERE PLEASANTLY SURPRISED THE NEXT MORNING THAT HER CONDITION HAD IMPROVED. THIS WAS ON MAY 26TH. THE VENTILATOR WAS ALSO REMOVED LATER THAT DAY OR THE NEXT MORNING. OUR MOTHER EVEN SAID SHE HEARD THE DOCTOR SAY SHE WAS ALREADY DEAD.
OUR MOTHER'S CARDIOLOGIST ARRIVED THE NEXT DAY AND STATED HE WASN'T SURE WHAT HAD HAPPENED. WE DISCUSSED THE PROCRIT INJECTION AND HE SAID, "IT MUST HAVE DONE A NUMBER ON HER. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE SHE DOESN'T GET ANYMORE OF THAT." HE THEN CLAIMED A PACEMAKER MIGHT KEEP THIS FROM HAPPENING AGAIN, AND SCHEDULED HER TO HAVE ONE PUT IN. BEFORE UNDERGOING THE PROCEDURE, THE PHYSICIANS CLEARED HER OF ANY INFECTIONS.
A COUPLE OF WEEKS LATER SHE RECEIVED THE PACEMAKER AND HER CONDITION CONTINUED TO IMPROVE. SHE WAS EVENTUALLY MOVED TO THE FIFTH FLOOR. DURING ALL OF THIS TIME, OUR MOTHER, MY SISTER, AND I MADE SURE THE NURSES AND PHYSICIANS WERE AWARE SHE DID NOT WANT THE PROCRIT DRUG AGAIN. HER CHART WAS CLEARLY MARKED, "NO PROCRIT."
WHILE ON THE FIFTH FLOOR, SHE RECEIVED PHYSICAL THERAPY AND WALKED DAILY. HER APPETITE WAS VERY WELL AND SHE MADE SURE SHE TOLD US EACH DAY THAT SHE HAD EATEN EVERYTHING ON HER PLATE.

THEN, ON JUNE 28TH MY SISTER AND I WERE VISITING AND WERE TOLD BY THE NURSE (NAME WITHHELD AT THIS TIME) THAT OUR MOTHER WAS SCHEDULED TO RECEIVE A PROCRIT INJECTION LATER THAT DAY. ???????

OUR MOTHER REMINDED THE NURSE THAT SHE WAS NOT TO RECEIVE PROCRIT AGAIN AS THAT WAS THE REASON SHE WAS THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE. THE NURSE SAID, "THAT IS WHAT I THOUGHT. LET ME GO CALL HIM AND SEE IF HE FORGOT." SHE LEFT AND CAME BACK AND SAID, "THE DOCTOR SAID THAT WAS ALRIGHT. SHE WILL NOT GET THE PROCRIT."

THE NEXT DAY WHILE MY SISTER AND I WERE VISITING OUR MOTHER, WE NOTICED SOMETHING WASN'T RIGHT. HER APPETITE WAS ABSENT, HER STOMACH WAS UPSET, AND HER SPEECH WAS SLURRED. OVER THE WEEKEND, IT ONLY GOT WORSE.

ON JULY 2ND, I WAS NOTIFIED AT WORK THAT SHE WAS SENT BACK TO THE CRITICAL CARE UNIT. IT WAS AT THIS TIME MY SISTER AND I LEARNED SHE HAD RECEIVED ANOTHER PROCRIT INJECTION A FEW DAYS EARLIER. I ASKED TEH CCU PHYSICIAN WHY SHE HAD RECEIVED THE DRUG AGAIN AND HE RESPONDED BY YELLING IN MY FACE, "GO AHEAD AND HIRE ALL THE GOD DAMN ATTORNEYS AND LAWYERS YOU WANT. IT WON'T DO ANY GOOD." THE SOCIAL WORKER AT THE HOSPITAL WITNESSED THE DOCTORS BEHAVIOR AND ESCORTED US TO ADMINISTRATION. IT DID NO GOOD. WE REQUESTED OUR MOTHER BE TRANSFERRED TO HENDRICK MEDICAL CENTER BUT WERE TOLD THERE ARE POLITICS INVOLVED BETWEEN THE TWO HOSPITALS AND WE WERE DENIED. THE PHYSICIANS WOULD NOT TALK TO US. THE CEO AND STAFF AT ARMC WOULD NOT TALK TO US. TWO OF THE PHYSICIANS COULD ONLY TALK TO US ABOUT LAWSUITS AND WHY IT WOULD BE A WASTE OF TIME TO EVEN CONSIDER IT. WE HAD NEVER MENTIONED LAWSUITS. WE ONLY WANTED QUALITY CARE FOR OUR MOTHER.

SHE EVENTUALLY PASSED AWAY. TO THIS DAY I CANNOT BELIEVE THE BEHAVIOR AND ACTIONS OF ABILENE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER AND ITS PHYSICIANS.

I HAVE HAD AT LEAST TWO TELEPHONE CONVERSATIONS WITH THE ATTORNEY FOR ARMC. HE HAS ADMITTED THE HOSPITAL HAS SERIOUS PROBLEMS AND ALSO STATED HE WOULD SEE TO IT THAT THEY SCHEDULE A MEETING WITH ME TO DISCUSS OUR EXPERIENCE. THIS HAS NOT HAPPENED. I HAVE AUDIO TAPES OF BOTH CONVERSATIONS WHICH WILL ALSO BE UPLOADED TO THIS WEBSITE SOON.

Letter to the Editor in the Abilene Reporter News

2008-08-16T12:28:00.006-05:00

This letter was printed in the August 16, 2008 edition of the Abilene Reporter News:

Health-care costs are outrageous.
I lost my mom in April due to a negligent nursing staff at one of the area hospitals. While in this hospital, she did not get her prescribed medicine, her room was filthy and smelled of urine, they never logged her eating and drinking habits, and at some point, she suffered a lack of oxygen that left her severely mentally retarded.
We really do deserve to get what we pay for!
Vicki Morris
Abilene

There are no doubts about which hospital the writer is referring to.

2008-08-14T22:08:00.018-05:00

I appreciate all the letters and emails I have received in reference to Abilene Regional Medical Center. Although some of you have requested to remain anonymous, I need more of you to be willing to share your story on camera. I will be video taping my story and sending it to a number of agencies. I would like for all of us to participate in this. I will also be uploading the videos to this website.
In addition, I will be making a number of DVD's which will be distributed around Abilene and the Big Country.

Letter to the Editor of Abilene Reporter News

2008-08-07T00:44:00.007-05:00

In the August 7th editon of the Abilene Reporter News, a letter is printed from a supposedly happy camper at Abilene Regional Medical Center. It took them awhile, but ARMC finally found someone to write a letter on their behalf. This comes after the news about Hendrick Health System's plan for expansion. I assume ARMC had to pay someone to write the letter just to get some attention.
One or more of the physicians the writer mentions was involved in the fatal error which resulted in our mother's death at ARMC.

Here is the letter:

I recently spent seven days in the Abilene Regional Medical Center and had a number of tests and procedures done, a heart catheterization and gall bladder surgery. My doctors, Frazee, Harper, Headstream, Leverton and Mather, did an excellent job of coordinating the procedures and care. Not only was I impressed with the doctors, but every staff member at the hospital who worked with me was knowledgeable, patient-centered and kind. I have never had such excellent treatment.
My wife and I thank all of the folks who worked with me and especially thank the second-floor nurses and staff of the primary care unit. We are fortunate to have such an excellent facility and so many professional health care providers as we encountered at the Abilene Regional Medical Center.

AS EXPECTED

2008-08-05T21:31:00.000-05:00

Several months ago I contacted the owners of Abilene Regional Medical Center and was told of a complaint hotline. 800-495-9510. I called the number, gave the information and was told to call back after August 4th to receive information regarding the results of the investigation. I called today, August 5th, and was told the case was closed and will not be reopened. I really didn’t expect anything more. At the expense of losing our mother, I have learned to stay away from this hospital. Their website talks about “QUALITY CARE”. This is false advertising at its worst. All I asked for was to meet with the physicians and staff involved. ARMC refused. Now I will devote the rest of my days to spreading the word about the dangers of Abilene Regional Medical Center and the harm they have done to numerous families. And the list is growing. Starting in September, I will begin listing the names of everyone involved, including physicians, nurses, and other staff. Some will ignore, but hopefully most of you will think twice before entering this dangerous hospital.I am not interested in lawsuits or money. I just believe every citizen should be treated fairly and honestly when they or a family member is hospitalized. I believe hospitals and physicians should be held accountable when mistakes are made. Not verbally yelling at family members when they ask a question. Then ignoring the fact they even exist. I have dealt with numerous other hospitals over the years. I can honestly say when I, or my family, had questions, they compassionately answered them the best they could. Not Abilene Regional Medical Center. We have also obtained medical records from a number of different hospitals. Only one hospital charged for the records. ABILENE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER. OVER ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS. I understand Abilene Regional Medical Center and their owners from Tennessee are a very large business. However, I feel confident I have convinced a number of people NOT to receive care at the facility. It is dangerous. I will continue to do so.

PHYSICIAN

2008-07-28T05:48:00.002-05:00

I was contacted on July 27th by a female who had just lost her mother in the past week. She provided details of mistakes the physician and hospital staff made. I gave her information on the physician which included at least TWO wrongful death lawsuits filed against him in the past. (PUBLIC RECORD) Although the outcome of those lawsuits is unclear. This victim asked that I post this to make others aware. I am sure the identity of this hospital where this took place should be obvious.

AUGUST MEETING

2008-07-27T13:24:00.001-05:00

I have planned a meeting the middle of August in reference to Abilene Regional Medical Center. If any of you have experienced problems with this hospital or know someone who has, please feel free to attend. Please email me at: gnr99a@hotmail.com and I will send more information. You do not have to share your experience. However, I will have forms from certain agencies that need to be completed if you choose to do so. I highly recommend this as you can remain anonymous.

STATE OF TEXAS HUGE MISTAKE IN 2003

2008-07-25T09:31:00.004-05:00

Click on the following link and see how the medical malpractice cap in the State of Texas is placing the innocent people in Texas in danger. I am against frivilous lawsuits. However, this law is hurting innocent victims and families while physicians and hospitals that constantly make fatal errors are protected. This law which was passed in 2003 needs to be changed. Please read the story of Logan. It is a shame physicians and hospitals can get by with this.

http://www.crocswithsocsrocs.com/ind...es/Page539.htm

As a result, the state of Texas is flooded with physicians applying for a license to practice in the state of Texas. The reason, it is almost impossible to be sued. This is the reason the physicians at Abilene Regional Medical Center were quick to verbally yell at me when I asked a question, laugh, then ignore our questions leading up the death of our mother.

I don't believe it makes the State of Texas a safe place knowing thousands of doctors are applying to practice here just so they can avoid being sued. It is not unlike thousands of fugitives heading to Mexico to avoid prosecution.

HOW ARMC COMPARES TO OTHER HOSPITALS

2008-07-23T23:05:00.002-05:00

How ARMC Compares to other hospitals:

Percent of Surgery Patients Who Received Treatment To Prevent Blood Clots Within 24 Hours Before or After Selected Surgeries to Prevent Blood Clots

Average for all reporting hospitals in the US: 75%
Abilene Regional 65%

Percent of Surgery Patients Whose Doctors Ordered Treatments to Prevent Blood Clots (Venous Thromboembolism) For Certain Types of Surgeries

Average for all reporting hospitals in the US: 79%
Abilene Regional Medical Center 67%

Percent of Surgery Patients Whose Preventative Antibiotic(s) are Stopped Within 24 hours After SurgeryThe rates displayed in this graph are from data reported for discharges July 2006 through June 2007.

Average for all reporting hospitals in the US: 78%
Abilene Regional Medical Center 63%

This information is from the Compare Hospitals website.

ARMC PHYSICIAN

2008-07-23T05:53:00.001-05:00

One of the physicians involved in this case sent me a certified letter last year. He said he would meet with me under the following conditions:
1. I would be alone.
2. No notes taken.
3. No audio devices.
4. No video devices.
5. He could have an attorney present.
6. No other physicians present.
7. This would be the one and only meeting.
8. Absolutely no information shared with news media.
I will have this letter scanned and displayed on this blog. Of course, for now the name would be blacked out until I release all the names later.

ABILENE REPORTER NEWS

2008-07-22T22:04:00.002-05:00

The editor of the Abilene Reporter News appears to be faithful to Abilene Regional Medical Center. Barton Cromeens has sent me numerous emails threatening to ban me from the Reporter News website if I posted a link to my blog again. However, on July 22nd at 11:49am, a comment was posted and listed a personal website. It has not been removed. Mr. Cromeens needs to do us all a favor and edit and proof the stories before they are printed and worry less about making some of his big shot buddies mad at him.

Can you trust YOUR doctor????

2008-07-20T08:41:00.003-05:00

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/072008dnmetmesdoctor.39b31fe.html

This was in the online edition of the Dallas Morning News on July 20, 2008. This doctor had been accused of these actions before and very little was done to stop him. I believe his license should be suspended the first time he is found guilty.

Another blog

2008-07-18T11:30:00.002-05:00

Here is a link to a blog that was started earlier this week.

http://bigcountryhomepage.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=11

Here is a post from that blog:

Thank you. I have contacted several local news stations. Problem is, locally they are real particular in reporting on "touchy" subjects. It is as though they don't want to make "certain" people mad at them. For instance, awhile back the SWAT team was called to a residence on South 14th Street. A young man was inside with weapons. He should have been arrested earlier but the police gave him a ride to his parents house. He was supposedly drunk and high on drugs and called his employer, ABILENE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER, and made some type of threat. That is why the SWAT team was called. He eventually surrendered. The odd thing about the story is, the news media would not identify the young man. Could it be because his father is a PHYSICIAN AT ABILENE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER?????? This young man also worked in a department at Abilene Regional Medical Center that deals directly with patients. He was employed there when my mother was there and I am attempting to find out if he had any contact with her. According to publicdata.com, this man has a lenghty criminal history. It appears ARMC does not run criminal history reports on applicants, or maybe they don't care. The young lady in the medical records department, that has received NUMEROUS complaints, also has a criminal history. IT IS ALL PUBLIC RECORD.

ABILENE REPORTER NEWS

2008-07-17T18:42:00.006-05:00

On Tuesday July 15, 2008, the Abilene Reporter News ran a story about Hendrick Medical Center. A portion of the story mentioned Abilene Regional Medical Center. A part of that story is:

Abilene Regional Medical Center issued an e-mail response when contacted about comparable reports. Mike Murphy, chief executive officer, stated that the medical center is committed to providing quality care. (Photo on the right)
"We appreciate the opportunity to compare our quality scores with state and national benchmarks so we continuously improve the care we provide," Murphy wrote. "Now, through Web sites such as Hospital Compare, the public can utilize the information posted as one key measure in choosing a hospital for their care."

I commented on Mike Murphy's outrageous comment about being committed to providing quality care in the blog section at the end of the story. Within minutes, the story was no longer on the main page. The next day, on Wednesday, I contacted the editor of the ARN and asked why the story had been removed. He responded by email:

Gary,

The story is still there. The comment - I just removed after it was flagged by more than one reader.

http://www.reporternews.com/news/2008/jul/15/hendrick-launches-web-site-to-promote-quality/

The story is not on the homepage. It is on the local news page. Other stories have moved into the spot that this one originally sat in.

I know that you have a campaign going regarding healthcare.

Reporternews.com isn't the place for that campaign or your blogspot. Almost anytime healthcare comes up you bring up Regional. Consider it off topic. Continued posting will result in having you banned from the site.

Please consider our word final on what the Reporter-News and reporternews.com can do for you.

Barton Cromeens
Editor
Abilene Reporter-News

Barton stated: "Almost anytime healthcare comes up you bring up Regional."
Mr. Cromeens, your story mentioned REGIONAL. It was already there. I simply commented on Mike Murphy's comments.
The Reporternews would like to stop any negative comments regarding ARMC. If any of you have read some of the blogs, you have seen how hateful and mean some of them can be. Funny thing is, I get threatened with being banned from the site because of my comments about Abilene Regional.

ANOTHER RECENT VICTIM OF ARMC

2008-07-15T21:09:00.001-05:00

HOW MANY VICTIMS IS IT GOING TO TAKE TO STOP THIS HOSPITAL???????

My mom too was treated badly at ARMC, which within a month led to her death, she was admitted with a blood clot in her leg, did not get her meds that were prescribed for a couple of days. To make a long story short she ended up with septicimia and altered mental status that is believed to be caused by "a lag time in oxygen" after 3 weeks in the hospital I was told that even if they could heal her septic condition that her mind would never be the same again, so I chose to put her in hospice, that was the hardest decision I have ever had to make! That hospital needs to be shut down!!!!

ANOTHER VICTIM

2008-07-14T21:38:00.002-05:00

Well, I had been debating about starting a thread about this "joint", but you have opened the door for me, gnreed! I'm about to let it fly!!First, let me thank God for nothing this severe hurting us, and I feel sadness for the families of these victims. I will now site some things that have happened to us.About two years ago, my wife was ill with "something". I didn't know what. She was out of it, and not feeling well. I took her to ARMC e.r. All the would do is say she had an upper respiratory ailment, and wanted to send her home, and her totally out of it.I had to make them mad, which is no hard thing to do, to do a flu test. They swabbed her nose, and sure enough, she had a sever flu virus!! They sent us home with some flu meds, and she finally got over it. The fools should have tested her for flu FIRST, then asked questions later. Some smart cracks were made by a nurse about us having to live in an apartment. The dialogue of that, I cannot remember at this late date.Last fall, she fell in the bathroom, and taking coumadin, it caused a hematoma of the kidney. It took us two more runs to the e.r. for them to finally do a CT scan to find this. "Bruised ribs" was the malpractice "diagnosis" they first sent us home with. She could have easily died! It was my concern and not giving up that saved her life.June 13th, I needed X-rays of my neck. I have hearing conditions known as tinnitus (ringing noises in the ears) and hyperacusis, an abnormal sensitivity to sound. When I walked in the X-ray room, the tech practically took my head off and snapped, Well, what are we supposed to do?! She didn't even have sense enough to read the requisition from my physician. The next thing she did was DEMAND that I remove my ear plugs that I have wear to prevent my hearing problems from being worsened by loud noises.She would not listen to me when I told her I have these problems.I made the big mistake of cooperating, and to this day, my tinnitus has been much louder and disruptive to my life! I am some better, but will probably hear the scars from the loud noises of her banging those X-ray plates in my ears, for the rest of my life. She also got hateful with me because I have limited jaw rom, and could not open my jaw fully to suit her. This made her make me lie down which is hard to do with a hiatal hernia, more discomfort, more injurious noises to my ears. This incident is under investigation by the accredidation people.This past week, my wife became violently ill, we think now, from eating a can of mercury-infested tuna, sold right off the shelves of a prominent store on S. 14th.The first time to the e.r., they did pretty well, but after I took her back home, she got ill again. She has heart problems, and it scared me so I again, at nearly 3a.m., dialed 911. When we got there, we shouldn't have. The first thing the Dr. did was come in there and jump all over us for not filling a phenegren Rx at 2:30 in the a.m. I had to get her home, she was ill. I couldn't let her sit out in the car and throw up all over it in her grave discomfort. She needed to be in bed, not sitting for an hour in a car waiting for a Rx to be filled. She was already full of a phenergen IV Rural Metro had given her. Next, this "lady" came in that types in info on a computer in the e.r. She DEMANDED a valid reason for us returning. My wife told her she was still ill. This "lady" then turned around slowly and glared down her nose at me, not saying a word. I came unwound! I told her LOOK! MY WIFE IS A HEART PATIENT! I AM NOT GOING TO LET HER LAY IN OUR BED VIOLENTLY ILL AND NOT HAVE HER CHECKED OUT!! JUST LET HER LAY IN OUR BED AND DIE!! She said nothing more to me.I can site other examples of our being treated hatefully by this group. During the kidney injury last fall, they were catheterizing my wife. I simply asked the young lady why they were. She took my head off at the neckline. I AM ONLY FOLLOWING ORDERS!! This same little twit got smart with me on another e.r. visit when she was loading my wife into the car. She told me in so many words I should be out there doing that, not her. I told her "That is your job. They aren't paying me to load patients for this hospital!" I later wrote a letter of complaint to the head admin, but of course, no reply. Yeah, right!So, gnreed, that is but a small sampling of our very unpleasant visits to this ARMC e.r. Every single time we deal with that place, it results in them being hateful to us, or some very unpleasant occurrence, i.e., my hearing being hurt. Thanks for opening the door for me to let it out about this cold, heartless medical facility.IMO, they closed the wrong hospital, West Texas. I just pray it can be re-opened one day. We live farther away from Hendrick than ARMC, only reason we use it. But henceforth, if we aren't dealing with life & death, we should start using HMC.Again, my heartfelt thanks for exposing what has been covered up long enough.

MORE OF THESE WILL BE POSTED AS I RECEIVE PERMISSION TO DO SO.

EMAIL RECEIVED FROM ARMC VICTIM

2008-07-14T21:31:00.002-05:00

I am so sorry to learn of what happened to you folks. That is tragic and was very preventable. That sounds so typical of ARMC. I'm afraid it's getting that way with a lot of hospitals all over the country.
I feel there is never room for rudeness or much less shouting at a patient or family member, but it should be just the opposite-caring, compassion, kind words. I can sure relate to the rudeness as my long post indicates.
I do hope their attorney is right, that they can one day, get that mess cleaned out. There needs to be a major league house-cleaning come off at their facility. We need two hospitals, really three, and I would rather see them clean up their act as to have to shut down.
Thanks for the e-mail address. I can't add much, but can re-tell what happened. The last e-mail I got from the accreditation (sp?) thing was they were on it, but weren't sure it fell in their area. That's been several weeks ago. So, my deal is/has also been under investigation.
This is ironic! My late mom passed away in their sister hospital, Brownwood Regional back in 1990. There was a case of negligence there as well. It is all foggy by now, but it had something to do with them not emptying her foley as they should have. She was in bad shape and was going to pass on anyway, but we will always feel that was hastened just a bit. All we got out of that was a free meal from an administrator! We had already consulted an Abilene attorney, and was told it wouldn't be worth all the pain of reliving all of that and not really get a penny. We didn't press charges.

ARMC EMERGENCY ROOM DEATH

2008-07-12T16:15:00.004-05:00

Within the past two weeks, a female entered the emergency room at Abilene Regional Medical Center with symptoms of a stroke. Evidently, she spent several hours in the waiting room, never received medical attention, and died. If anyone knows this lady or a relative, please contact me.
The 75 year old emergency room physician at ARMC may have not had enough time to get to her.

PATIENT SAFETY AND QUALITY HEALTHCARE

2008-07-10T12:48:00.004-05:00

ARMC CEO MIKE MURPHY, WHY DO YOU ALLOW THIS AT YOUR HOSPITAL?????

Acts that interfere with patient care
Medical intimidation can encompass behaviors that range from verbal insults to physical assault, say researchers who've studied the problem for years. The broad category includes the following specific behaviors, outlined in a medical safety journal.
— Profane or disrespectful language
— Demeaning behavior, such as name-calling
— Sexual comments or innuendo
— Inappropriate touching, sexual or otherwise
— Racial or ethnic jokes
— Outbursts of anger
— Throwing instruments, charts or other objects
— Criticizing other caregivers in front of patients or other staff
— Comments that undermine a patient's trust in other caregivers or the hospital
— Comments that undermine a caregiver's self-confidence in caring for patients
— Failure to adequately address safety concerns or patient care needs expressed by another caregiver
— Intimidating behavior that suppresses input by other members of the healthcare team
— Deliberate failure to adhere to organizational policies without evidence to support an alternative
— Retaliation against any member of the health care team who has reported a violation to the code of conduct or who has participated in an investigation of an incident
From Patient Safety & Quality Healthcare

THIS NEWS ARTICLE IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF ARMC PHYSICIANS

2008-07-09T12:58:00.003-05:00

Hospital bullies take a toll on patient safety
Bad behavior by doctors and others undercuts morale, leads to errors
On MSNBC.com now: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25594124/

I am encouraged by the emails I have received from other physicians. It is comforting to know there are excellant and caring doctors out there. As in any profession, a few bad ones tarnish the reputations of the others.

It is still hard to believe a physician, such as the one at Abilene Regional Medical Center, could yell at a family member when one of their parents is about to die. It is also hard to believe a hospital could totally ignore questions a family has.

The simple explanation is: The physician KNEW a FATAL MISTAKE was made. His natural reaction was to yell and act like it was OUR fault.

The attorney for ARMC contacted me for the second time several weeks ago. I will go into more detail about that conversation later.

ABILENE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER PHYSICIAN

2008-07-08T22:24:00.006-05:00

A 75 YEAR OLD PHYSICIAN ADMINISTERED CYCLOPENTOLATE THAT HE THOUGHT WAS AN ANESTHETIC TO A 2-YEAR OLD FOR THE REMOVAL OF AN ITEM LODGED IN THE PATIENT'S NOSTRIL.

ONE OF MANY CONTINUOUS ERRORS OF ARMC PHYSICIANS.

PHYSICIANS VS PHYSICIANS

2008-07-03T08:03:00.004-05:00

After the staff and physicians made the fatal mistake at Abilene Regional Medical Center, the physicians took turns taking verbal shots at the other physicians. Of course, we had to chase them down for them to even talk to us, but when they did, the physicians acted like criminals, WASN'T ME. IT WAS HIM. The infectious disease physician, who for some reason, acts like an expert on lawsuits, stated, "It was Dr. (Hendrick Physician) fault." He is the one you need to go after." This same physician during one of his lawsuit speeches in our mother's CCU room stated, "I don't know why Dr. (ARMC PHYSICIAN) yelled at you the way he did. I know he has had alot of complaints. They (ARMC) need to do something with him."
When we contacted Dr. (Hendrick Physician) he stated, "I hear they are blaming me for this and that pisses me off." This went on for weeks until her death in August 2007. There is more, alot more. Stay tuned. It gets worse.
As I have mentioned many times on this blog, other families have reported similiar experiences at this hospital. I am confident things are about to change.

DOCTORS UNDER THE INFLUENCE????

2008-06-28T10:12:00.002-05:00

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/06/26/eveningnews/main4213269.shtml

Estimates say drug-company payments to doctors go as high as $57 billion a year. Maybe this is the reason the physician was so eager to inject the procrit drug into our mother's body even when he was instructed not to. The PROCRIT injection costs $2,000.00 per injection. I have researched the drug maker, Johnson and Johnson, and discovered they reward physicians with rebates and cash for using the drug PROCRIT. There are a hand full of Congressman currently investigating this problem.
It will be interesting to find out how much the Abilene physician has and continues to receive from the drug company.

ONE YEAR AGO

2008-06-26T09:35:00.003-05:00

One year ago this week, as our mother was looking forward to being discharged from the hospital after almost losing her life to a reaction to a procrit injection, one of the Abilene Regional Medical Center's physicians decided to inject her with the same drug once again. As she was lying in the CCU room on a ventilator, she was attempting to talk and moving her arms as to ask "why did they give me another shot?" My brother in law told her "Don't worry. They will not give you that drug again." She shook her head back and forth indicating "NO".
As I have mentioned before, from this point on, it was hell for her and the family. I do not believe anyone would disagree our mother deserved an answer. To this day, the question has not been answered. This is what we did receive:
1. Verbally assaulted by the CCU physician when asked why she received the drug again. He even told me to hire all the attorneys and lawyers I wanted. Then laughed.
2. While visiting with our mother as she was about to pass away, another physician talking about lawsuits and why we should not even consider it.
3. Being denied by Abilene Regional Medical Center to transfer our mother to another hospital in Abilene.
4. Being told by ARMC staff that our complaint would be reviewed at the next meeting and something would be done. After waiting several weeks, we contacted them and were told our complaint was thrown out because it didn't fit the requirements for a complaint. A phone call or letter would have been nice.
5. Having the physicians to dodge us and only check on our mother during non visitation hours so they wouldn't have to answer questions.
6. We fired the physician that ordered the deadly drug injection. Once our mother FINALLY left ARMC, this same physician walked up to her room and attempted to get information. I am sure he did after I left.
7. We received $1,200.00 worth of medical records containing blank pages and completely out of order. Not to mention having to deal with the behavior of the young lady in medical records. However, when she was not taking it out on us and others attempting to get medical records, she was complaining about the politics of ARMC and how she hated the Administration Staff. I DO see her point there. She told us some other information I am holding on to for legal reasons.
8. The physician harassing us about lawsuits claimed his mother died of the same problems our mother had. We later learned his mother is alive and well.
In the end, our mother passed away in August 2007. I believe it is unacceptable for physicians and a hospital to believe they do not have to answer patients and families questions. Especially in this case. I personally believe they feel this will go away over time. Once again, I can assure them that it will not.
I have letters I have written and will be sending to local, state, and national newspapers. I have also been in contact with a reporter for a national news station. She is working on a story about the problems and dangers of healthcare nationwide. Hopefully we can add Abilene Regional Medical Center to this story.

MEDICAL RECORDS

2008-06-24T22:55:00.001-05:00

As mentioned earlier, we paid over $1,200.00 for our mother's medical records from Abilene Regional Medical Center. While waiting for copies to be made of the records, the young lady in the medical records department treated us and others as though we were wasting her time. At one point, an elderly lady walked in and asked for a copy of her husband's records. The young lady treated this elderly person so poorly it brought the lady to tears. She walked out and stated she was going to talk to someone in charge. I followed her to the Administrative office of ARMC. The lady told her story and I also told of our experience as well as others. As usual, the secretary stated, "I will let someone know about it. It will be taken care of." That phrase is used often at ARMC.
I went back to the Medical Records Department, paid the disgruntled young lady over $1,200.00 and drove home. I then discovered the pages were not stamped as they should have been. I contacted her by phone and she requested I return and this would be taken care of. Upon arrival, she took the box from me, requested I have a seat outside the office, and she would take care of it. She also stated she would distribute it out to all employees and they would help stamp the pages. After receiving the records again, it was discovered there were numerous blank pages and the records were not in order. Nice way to make $1,200.00. It should also be noted the other hospitals involved charged a total of $0.00 for our mother's records.
To top it off, the employee in the Medical Records Department has a CRIMINAL HISTORY. THEFT PROP >=$1500 < $20K. A STATE JAIL FELONY. PER PUBLICDATA.COM THAT IS PUBLIC RECORD.
There are other employees with criminal backgrounds I will mention later.

MEETING IN AUSTIN THIS WEEK

2008-06-24T13:07:00.000-05:00

I am extremely encouraged at the amount of emails I have received since starting this blog. Word is getting around about the actions and dishonesty of this hospital. I will be in Austin on Thursday and Friday of this week with meetings regarding this case.

INCOMPASSIONATE PHYSICIANS AT ARMC

2008-06-22T07:45:00.000-05:00

You would think when a family member or friend is in the hospital, especially the Critical Care Unit, you would receive comfort and compassion from the physician and nursing staff. That is not the case at Abilene Regional Medical Center. After the physician made the senseless mistake of injecting a drug into my mother's body against her wishes and ours, and she was rushed back to the critical care unit, it was as though WE, the family members, had made the mistake. After being verbally assaulted by the physician in CCU, it was very difficult to even find a physician to talk to. If you are familiar with Abilene Regional's Critical Care Unit you are aware they have limited visitation times. When we asked a nurse to speak to the physician, we were told he had already been around. DURING NO VISITATION HOURS. How convenient. On one occasion, we had contacted the physician by phone and he stated he would meet with us the next morning. When he failed to show, we asked the nurse and she stated he had been around earlier and we had missed him. Once again, it was during NO VISITATION HOURS. I contacted the physician by phone and he stated, "I guess I am not aware of visitation hours." You would think the CCU physician after all the years would know the CCU visitation hours. But once again, this IS Abilene Regional Medical Center. There is one physician that WOULD come around, the nutty infectious disease doctor that would only talk about lawsuits. Those are really compassionate physicians at Abilene Regional. Most hid and avoided the issue, but sent the nuttiest one to talk to the family about lawsuits.

COMMENTS FROM AN EMPLOYEE AT ARMC

2008-06-15T22:55:00.001-05:00

AS POSTED ON JOBVENT.COM:

Abilene, Texas: "Oh my god, this is the worst place ever. As a healthcare worker who works in this hospital- I personally recommend people NOT to come here. Believe me, if you ever get in a wreck, don't go to this hospital."
This was posted by an employee of Abilene Regional Medical Center.

I have spoken with several current and former employees of Abilene Regional Medical Center who are extremely unhappy about events that have occured at the hospital over the years.

During the most recent conversation with the attorney for the owners of Abilene Regional Medical Center, he admitted there were problems but claimed they are working on correcting them. The question is, How many more patients and families have to suffer due to the these problems at ARMC??????

HOW ABILENE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER COMPARES TO OTHER HOSPITALS

2008-06-15T09:46:00.000-05:00

Would patients recommend the hospital to friends and family? ARMC scored 60%

How do patients rate the hospital overall? ARMC = 58%

How often was the area around patients' rooms kept quiet at night? ARMC = 59%

How often were the patients' rooms and bathrooms kept clean? ARMC = 66%

How often did staff explain about medicines before giving them to patients? ARMC = 57%

How often was patients' pain well controlled? ARMC = 62%

How often did patients receive help quickly from hospital staff? ARMC = 54%

How often did nurses communicate well with patients? ARMC = 67%

ABILENE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER SCORED BELOW AVERAGE ON ALL BUT ONE OF THE QUESTIONS ON THE SURVEY.

THE VICTIMS OF ABILENE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER

2008-06-11T22:33:00.000-05:00

The attorney for Abilene Regional Medical Center called me several weeks ago and claimed he was arranging a meeting with the VP's of Abilene Regional Medical Center and he would see to it that we receive an "Apology." Thanks for the offer Mr. Serpe but after one year, it is alittle too late for an apology.
Since this ordeal began, I have met numerous patients and families who have experienced problems with Abilene Regional Medical Center. I am working on getting approval to start listing the physicians and staff of Abilene Regional Medical Center at the center of these problems. This includes cases where physicians or nursing staff administered the wrong medication, too much medication, failure to document important information, as well as numerous other mistakes. This should create an uproar but I am concerned about the safety of patients and future patients of Abilene Regional Medical Center.
I hope to start posting details within a couple of weeks.

ABILENE PHYSICIAN'S HORRENDOUS LIE

2008-06-07T12:38:00.000-05:00

During the physician's relentless attempt to talk myself and my family out of filing a lawsuit, the physician stated his mother went through the same thing our mother was experiencing. He went on to say his mother passed away during surgery years ago and it was still very hard. Later, we read in a local newspaper where this particular physician's mother was visiting Abilene from another state. It was later verified, his mother is alive and well. I am very glad to hear she is alive, but how low can a person go??????
This physician also contacted my niece in New Mexico and informed her the news that her grandmother had passed away. This is BEFORE we could even notify her. I personally believe this physician is out of control. I have talked to others and have been told of their experiences with this same physician.
The nurses and others I have spoken to all had one word to describe this physician: "WEIRDO".

SILENCE FROM ARMC

2008-06-03T21:42:00.000-05:00

Mission Statement:
Abilene Regional Medical Center is committed to providing quality healthcare in a safe, comfortable and compassionate environment.

At Abilene Regional Medical Center, we're here to enhance the quality of your life. We accomplish that goal by creating an environment that fosters physician participation, recognizes the value and contributions of our employees and strives to meet the unique health care needs of the area we serve.

One year ago this month, the staff at Abilene Regional Medical Center disregarded our mother's and our demands to not have a certain drug given to her again. Sadly, she was rushed back to CCU and never recovered. During this ordeal at ARMC, I was yelled at in CCU by the physician in front of my family, nurses, other patients, and visitors. We were visited by another physician who could only talk about lawsuits. (We had never discussed lawsuits) This was in our mother's CCU room as she lay there about to pass away. Very compassionate doctors they have at ARMC. We attempted to talk to the physician in charge of our mother's care, but he kept dodging us. Later, he stated he wasn't sure of CCU visitation hours and evidently came when we weren't able to visit. There is more. ALOT MORE. I have to wait to release that information. Including the autopsy report.
Meanwhile, the administration at ARMC is extremely quiet. No phone calls, no letters answered. I assume they believe this will fade away. It will not. I am concerned about the publics safety. Is this a rare experience at ARMC or does it happen often. We have spoken with numerous families with stories about ARMC. I have news for those of you who have had similiar problems with the hospital. Please feel free to contact me.
Also, ARMC, I recommend you update your mission statement.

Abilene Regional Medical Center: DID THEY COMMIT MURDER???

2008-06-01T19:00:00.000-05:00

Should a hospital and or physicians be charged with assault or even murder when going against a patient's request not to be given a certain drug? Should patients and their families overlook this as "just a mistake." I don't think so. Has this happened before? According to numerous families I have spoken with, there are far too many mistakes being made at Abilene Regional Medical Center.
When a mistake is made, is it right for a hosptial such as Abilene Regional Medical Center to ignore a patient's family and the questions they have?
The truth is Abilene Regional Medical Center is very fearful of a lawsuit. After all, they are the first and only to bring it up. They know this is going to be very public and they will continue to receive negative publicity. Mike Murphy, you claim to have an open door policy when questions or conflict arise. Are you going to come forward and discuss this????? If not, please update your website and admit you will dodge any questions a family may have regarding mistakes you make at your hospital.
Also, when you place an ad for help wanted, you can add, CRIMINALS ARE ENCOURAGED TO APPLY.
You can't deny it. I have a list of names of the employees with criminal records employed by your hospital. Maybe that explains why there are so medical mistakes and victims at your hospital. Maybe they aren't mistakes.
If the attorney for ARMC is reading this, it has been several weeks since you contacted me and claimed you are arranging a meeting with the staff at ARMC. I am still waiting.

Abilene Reporter News

2008-05-29T21:57:00.000-05:00

It was humorous to see so many posts by several readers attempting to insult me on the Abilene Reporter News websit. I invited them to this blog but so far they have refused. The reason is, they cannot hide behind a screen name. It's funny how brave some can be when they don't have to reveal their identity. It is clear to see these three people are either employees or have some connection with Abilene Regional Medical Center. They are well aware there are major problems with Abilene Regional Medical Center and are on edge about what will happen in the future. The good news is, with their attempts at insulting me, it brings more attention to this cause. After all, they were posting about me on a news story about 150 windmill jobs coming to Abilene. Keep up the good work guys.

TEXAS MEDICAL MALPRACTICE CAP

2008-05-29T08:03:00.000-05:00

The State of Texas has a medical malpractice cap of $250,000. This protects physicians from lawsuits which the ARMC physicians were quick to inform us. However, it will not stop us. It IS possible.

This is a quote from a local newspaper:
"An influx of doctors clamoring to practice in Texas because of a new malpractice lawsuit cap has inundated the state's licensing boards and created a backlog of applicants who wait for months before they begin practicing."

Is this safe for Texas and its patients?

Medical Errors and Mistakes
44,000 - 98,000
Number of deaths attributed to medical errors and malpractice.

We need to change this law for our safety.

Abilene Regional Medical Center

2008-05-27T23:38:00.000-05:00

AS POSTED ON ARMC WEBSITE:

"Patient Care & Safety ConcernsAbilene Regional Medical Center wishes to promote open communication regarding your hospital experience. We encourage you to speak with the respective Department Director to voice complaints or concerns or to ask questions. You may contact our main hospital switchboard at 325/428-1000, dial “0” and ask to be transferred to the director of the particular unit you wish to speak with. You may also email any concerns."

ARMC CEO Mike Murphy: I am requesting you remove this from your website. This is false advertising at its worst. You and your staff have ignored our phone calls and requests to speak to you and those responsible for the fatal mistakes that were made at your hospital which resulted in a death. We also paid over $1,000.00 for our mother's medical records and were treated like dirt during the entire time the copies were being made. After witnessing other families experience the same treatment, we stood in line to talk to your administrative secretary. Once again we were told it would be taken care of and we would be contacted. WE WEREN'T.
Could it be you don't want the criminal history of this person made known to the public???? Publicdata.com tells the story.
We will not allow you to continue to ignore the problems you have with your hospital and total lack of compassion toward your patients.

Abilene Regional CEO, Did you ignore this complaint also???

2008-05-26T21:03:00.000-05:00

Name withheld:
This was the closest hospital to my city that performed this surgery. (90 miles away.)
Competitors:
The med surg/bariatric floor were very neglectful.
Comments:
The anesthialogist gave me morphine before he asked if I could take it and my respirations dropped so low that I had to be put on a c-pap respirator for 24 hours and placed in ICU for 9 hours. Then I was transfered to a telemetry floor where the staff was attentive. After they removed the c-pap machine I was moved to the med surg/bariatric floor and was ignored. I never got anyone to assist me to the bathroom, I had to jump out of the bed to go and could not climb back in because it was so high. I sat and waited more than 45 minutes to be returned to bed each time. My beeping IV was ignored till it infiltrated twice. I even called the operator and asked her to call for assistance since the staff had not come for over one hour, but still no one came. I would not let them restart it the second time it infiltrated. No one ever asked if I was having pain, no one ever did I&O, no one ever asked if I tolerated the fluids, no one ever asked if I was throwing up, which I did, no one came to help me clean up after I threw up, and I heard the night staff talking and joking across the hall at the nurses station and next door in the nurses lounge. I would not recommend this hospital to anyone. I have taken a note to the DON and the Administrator in hopes that they may change things.

Procrit story continues:

2008-05-26T10:26:00.000-05:00

Was the drug needed, or was it the money. Our mother's chart was clearly marked and she had told the doctors and nurses she did NOT want the drug again. After all, she almost lost her life on May 25, 2007 after the violent reaction after receiving the injection.
After coming through all of this, over the next several weeks she participated in physical therapy and there was talk of discharging her from the hospital. However, on July 2nd, we received a phone call she was back in CCU. When my sister and I arrived, we soon learned she had received the procrit injection AGAIN. A short while later she was rushed back to CCU. When I asked the CCU physician why she had received the PROCRIT injection again, he yelled in my face in front of my family, other families, and nurses. He stated, "You can hire all the attorneys and lawyers you want. It won't do any good." I was distraught and now had to put up with a CCU PHYSICIAN yelling at me in front of everyone. There had been no talk of lawsuits on our part. We had JUST arrived at the hospital. An employee of the hospital witnessed this and took us to the Administration office. We were not given truthful information at that time as well.
We attempted to leave Abilene Regional Medical Center and transfer our mother to Hendrick Hospital in Abilene. Of all things, we were told we couldn't. One of the department heads stated, "There are politics between the two hospitals and it wouldn't be wise to transfer to Hendricks."
That is when one of the physicians entered the CCU room and began talking lawsuits again. Not the same CCU physician who yelled in front of everyone. ANOTHER ARMC PHYSICIAN.
This physician went on to talk about how hard it is to win a lawsuit against physicians and it would be a waste of time. He even stated his own mother died of the same problems our mother had. It would later be learned that his mother is ALIVE and well. This may sound like a made up story but I promise these are facts. Not made up.
After what seemed like weeks, we finally were allowed to transfer her to a hospital in Dallas. However, oddly enough, she went unresponsive the night before. There are other details but I will hold off on that at this time.
I continued to receive phone calls from the physician and even had two more face to face visits with him and he continued to talk about lawsuits.
There is more to this story and will be shared later.

Procrit

2008-05-26T09:50:00.000-05:00

One of the emails I received is from an elderly female in California. She has cancer and was receiving the anemia drug, Procrit, as was my mother. After the first injection, she immediately went into cardiac arrest. The physician said her heart was severely damaged. This lady stated the doctors have not given her long to live.
When is this drug going to be banned? The physician that was injecting our mother with this drug was getting almost $2,000.00 per injection. That was weekly. How much do you believe this doctor is making per day, per month, per year, by using this drug? Also, how many patients do not NEED this drug but receiving it anyway. If any of you are receiving this drug or know someone who is, please watch for side effects. Google the dangers of procrit and other anemia drugs.

ARMC

2008-05-25T21:59:00.000-05:00

I continue to receive emails from patients and families who have had problems with Abilene Regional Medical Center. Hopefully we can work together and force the hospital to make changes that will benefit and assure patients are receiving quality care.
I would like to respond to the critics that responded to my posts on the Abilene Reporter News website. Just alittle over one year ago, I was like you. I hated to hear the news when someone was filing a lawsuit for one reason or another. I hated lawyers and believed I would never have a reason to hire one. Believe me, things change. Some of you accused me of making false claims and filing an absurd lawsuit. I don't want to give out too many more details of this case at this time, but let me inform you, we have medical records as well as an AUTOPSY to verify all of these facts. As I have stated over and over, all ARMC and the physicians had to do was talk to us. They refused. The circumstances of the case are very suspicious and will be investigated. In addition, the other families we have talked to have suffered similiar experiences. I do not believe this is something we can forget about and go on.

Physician owned hospitals

2008-05-25T20:49:00.001-05:00

I believe it is very important to get the news out about the physician owned hospitals and the dangers they impose on the public. As I mentioned before, the widow of Steve Spivey (West Texas Hospital victim) is testifying in the State of Florida to keep these hospitals from opening in that state. From reading these reports and testimony, the physicians want to open these hospitals to make more money for them while providing minimal patient care.
Once again, the three congressmen who helped closed West Texas Hospital are from out of state. Where are our own congressmen and what position do they take on this issue? I have written emails and sent faxes to them requesting they share their positions on this issue. I would like for everyone to do the same. I personally believe physicians and hospitals are getting by with too much as the general public believes they don't have a right to ask questions.

Abilene Reporter News

2008-05-25T10:14:00.001-05:00

It appears the Abilene Reporter News finally gave in to the complaints of ARMC and removed the blog. Funny thing about Abilene, the city gets involved and irate over a Cracker Barrel sign being too tall or a billboard stating, "Get your bed ready, Myrtles coming", but they are silent on the problems with local healthcare.
I do want to thank the Abilene Reporter News for allowing the public to comment on stories they publish.
After a year of silence from Abilene Regional, and failure to respond to my phone calls and letters, the attorney for the owners of ARMC contacted me and claimed to be working on scheduling a meeting to talk with them. I don't believe this would have happened if it hadn't been for the comments posted on the Reporter News website.

WEST TEXAS HOSPITAL

2008-05-19T19:21:00.000-05:00

How much does the public know about the now closed West Texas Hospital? What about the 32 physicians that had ownership in the hospital? Of course the local Abilene media did not attempt to dig and get the real story. The congressmen that finally came in and closed the hospital before more patients died were from out of state. Our own wonderful congressmen from the state of Texas failed to touch it. Of course our own State Rep. Susan King's husband may be one of the doctors involved, so of course there was no action or talk there.
There are pending lawsuits against West Texas Hospital and the physicians involved due to the death of a patient at West Texas Hospital. You can read a story on the death at the hospital by googling West Texas Hosptil/New York Times.

Abilene Hospital

2008-05-18T17:36:00.001-05:00

The purpose of this blog is to inform and warn the public of the actions and conduct of the staff and several physicians of an Abilene Hospital.

It started on May 25, 2007 when my mother was airlifted to the Abilene Hospital from Sweetwater, Texas after a reaction to an anemic drug she was given earlier in the day from an Abilene Physician. She arrived at the Abilene Hospital and the CCU physician in charge that night, lifted her head and told my sister and I, "She is already gone." He pointed a small flashlight into her eyes and then let her head fall violently back onto the pillow. Over night, her condition improved and she was moved to a private room. She told the physicians and nurses not to give her the drug again. The drug is called PROCRIT. The physicians and nurses acknowledged her request and her chart was marked clearly, " NO PROCRIT."
Over the next several weeks, her condition improved and she was preparing to be discharged. On June 28, 2007, for whatever reason, the Doctor ordered and she received another PROCRIT injection. She was rushed back to CCU and never recovered. When she entered CCU, my sister and I asked the CCU physician why she was given another injection of the drug. The physician became almost violent, getting within a few inches of my face and yelling, "YOU CAN HIRE ALL THE ATTORNEYS AND LAWYERS YOU WANT. IT WON'T DO ANY GOOD." An employee of the hospital witnessed this and escorted my sister and I to the adminsitration office to file a complaint. We were told there would be a meeting and something would be done. A month or so went by and we heard nothing. We contacted the Administration office again and we were told our complaint does not fall under the requirements for filing a complaint on a physician. If that was the case, why weren't we notified?
Our mother spent the next several weeks in CCU and we attempted to transfer her to another hospital in Abilene but our request was denied. The hospitals excuse was, "There are alot of politics involved between the two hospitals and it wouldn't be in your best interest to transfer across town."
To make matters worse, the infectious disease physician walked into our mother's CCU room and attempted to talk us into NOT filing a lawsuit. Keep in mind, our family had NEVER mentioned a lawsuit. Our only concern was the health of our mother. This same physician made telephone calls to family members attempting to talk to anyone that would listen, out of filing a lawsuit.
More to come.......