The Red Stethoscope: September 21, 2010

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

September 21, 2010

Jim:

I have tried to keep you informed of Linda's health care and that she was alive and well. You continue to quote me in your e-mails. These e-mails have a blocked address until now so I could not dispute any of the statements you attribute to me. The last message before this one misled people to think that I am providing you with information to continue your battle with I U Hospital, and Dr. Tector. I have felt sorry for you being separated from Linda and tried to provide the minimum information to calm your fears that Linda was being mistreated. I have always held a neutral position about the medical staff and found them to be attentive and while visiting her care has been exceptional.

I am no longer willing to provide you with any other information except that Linda is alive and well. During my visits I am only interested encouraging Linda to fight return to health. Please do not use my name in any of your e-mails nor do I want you to quote me without my express permission.

Thank you.

Chuck

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Why The Red Stethoscope?

Ever since the Mayo brothers discovered the importance of doctors washing their hands before and after touching each patient, infection control in the hospital setting has become a major concern of all doctors, nurses, and other health care providers. Recently, hospital acquired infections by strains of bacteria resistant to multiple antibiotics, passed from one hospitalized patient to another, have been a major source of concern among infectious disease specialists.

As a result, rather than using the same stethoscope to listen to every patient's heartbeat, breath sounds and bowel sounds as they make rounds from room to room, and risk carrying bacteria from one patient to another on the steoscope, hospital patients who have infections get a red stethoscope placed in their room, and each doctor who visits that patient uses the red stethoscope to listen to the infected patient's chest and abdomen. The red stethoscope never leaves the patient's room, and hence cannot be the source of infection passed from one hospitalized patient to another.

I chose the red stethoscope as the symbol of this blog, because its advent and use proves that there are still many lessons to be learned by doctors, nurses, hospital administrators and other health care providers from the mistakes in their hospitals which continue to injure or kill hospital patients who should not be suffering and dying .

About Me

I am a lawyer, and husband of a liver transplant patient. As I begin writing this blog my wife has been hospitalized for four months following her transplant surgery, and it does not appear she will be well enough to get discharged any time soon. During her hospital confinements she has suffered just about every indignity and injury any person her age could be expected to survive.

I want the world to know about her ordeal, and about the terrible things done to her by doctors and other health care providers who believe it is their right to treat a patient however they please, even if the patient doesn't want the treatment. Everything in this blog is factual. Most of it I saw with my own eyes. The dates and times given are real, and the names of the patient, the hospitals, the doctors, the hospital administrators and other hospital personnel used in this blog are real names of real people.

If there are any print or broadcast journalists out there who would like to help publicize the egregious health care abuses described in this blog, you can E-mail me at red.stethoscope@gmail.com and I will arrange to provide you with documents supporting all the facts set out in my blog, to assist you in your work.