Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Your Comment????.....7/15

Interesting email quote:

it appears essent PRMC has filed suit against a blogger, perhaps you, please answer with any statement you might have in response.
This was from the Paris News, Bill Hankins? Hawkins? Whatever....

When someone gets sued by the hospital (rarified company: RRVR, Dr. T, etc.), they want to publish. Yet, when citizens have legitimate complaints about care, working conditions, and the like---no response.

This site has been an outlet for pent-up frustrations for many of us, and only a few have actually put in their real names. 'twould be a shame if they should bear the brunt of Essent's wrath.

But, how did they come up with a name? If it's me (and I don't know that it's not), we might be eating chicked broth and crackers for a long while. (and we'll look at privacy, electronic eves-dropping, wiretapping, and the like issues. But, I wasn't served at work...if it's the last commenter that generated a post, the Snooze had to collude with the hospital, since they haven't published the comment, nor an article. So much for an unbiased media.

So, one could say this is my comment. Hope you publish, Bill.... Make sure you get the URL right....

50 comments:

Anonymous said...

If true it sounds like another monumental waste of money. What are they suing you for, telling the truth?

Anonymous said...

Funny, I show no suits being filed by Essent in Lamar County (which can be pulled up by going to this address: http://68.89.102.225/). This is the Lamar County Judicial Records. The only suits which will be filed will probably be ones against PRMC and Hud and the Bud!

fac_p said...

I checked, as well, but remember, there is the ability to file in a different jurisdiction. Essent is located in Nashville, the blog is not geographically restrained. Might be they filed in Nashville.

Anonymous said...

Not filed in Nashville, either. I think they are blowing smoke..... (and each other) in Hud's house.

Anonymous said...

Nah, Dickie got his own place. Hud's moved as well. New digs.

Anonymous said...

They are filing with the feds. Is there a federal court here?

Anonymous said...

Where in any posting ,has there been any HIPAA violation? This would involve release information about a specific patient that would allow them to be identified. I have not been able to find any such entry. Essent hates the blog (as was evident by Salerno's diatribe earlier) so the excuse of attacking the blog to protect any one or any family is ludicrous!

Anyone that speaks out against Essent is subject to retaliation (possibly elimination?)

The idea of spending money on lawyers to protect patient's information and identity is laughable, especially since one of Essent's administrators (Chris Cheek) let the wife (using her maiden name) of Mr. Mosher, a local plaintiff atty, roam around in the pre-op holding area and in the recovery room on the south campus for 5 days and on the north for 2 days until she was discovered by 2 MDs that knew who she was because her husband had sued them!

Perhaps this information should be brought out in the upcoming suit against the blog! Lets see: $5,000 fine for each violation x 35 to 50 charts and patients she illegally reviewed...that could really add up for Essent! Let he who is without HIPAA violations cast the first stone!!!!

Whoever gets sued, make a post on the blog and make a way to contact you and I will furnish you with the evidence regarding the HIPAA violations committed by Mrs. Mosher with Essent's consent!

Obviously this is an attempt to squash the blog. HIPAA violations can be handled internally, or the Feds can pursue them. There hasn't been a release of protected information by myself, or by the commenters, to my knowledge.

It would seem that use of protected information for other than its intended purpose would be more in line with what the hospital has done. You weren't the only one to reply as such. They'll be doing the hot-potato hand-off, should that ever be pursued.

That being said, the reason they are pursuing the HIPAA aspect, is that the Feds can get ISP information on Web traffic.

However, to my knowledge, it has not happened even in the blogs that some physicians have that describe in fair detail aspects of their patients conditions and frailties. Personally, I think that that type of blog should be closed down.

Was Mike Mosher's wife fined, or his tactics called into question? Apparently not.

Looks like we let the Feds sort things out....frank

Anonymous said...

They are full of $h!t. I have access to the federal court system as a user (public can get access just like i did- for 8 cents a page).............They havent filed in Tennessee (Middle, Western or Eastern), nor in the Eastern District of Texas. The only case I saw was Signet v. Essent Corporation.

ITS LIVE AND IN REAL TIME.

Someone is trying to make people nervous...........

Anonymous said...

Blog sued by hospital

By Bill Hankins
The Paris News

Published June 20, 2007 - Updated 35 minutes ago

Essent Healthcare, parent company of Paris Regional Medical Center has filed a lawsuit in Lamar County’s 62nd District Court against unknown “bloggers,” contending a blog — http://the-paris-site.blogspot.com — has defamed the hospital and that bloggers are breaking the law in releasing patient confidential information.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, asks the court to order SuddenLink Communications Inc., a local cable Internet provider, to disclose the identity and mailing address of the bloggers.

It also asks for damages in an amount sufficient to compensate the hospital for its injuries and losses resulting from the defamation and business disparagement by the bloggers, and punitive damages for the “willful, malicious and reckless attacks” on the hospital’s reputation, goodwill and business opportunities.

Shortly after receiving the lawsuit Tuesday, Presiding Judge Scott McDowell of 62nd District Court issued an order granting plaintiff’s motion to disclosure information, ordering SuddenLink to disclose the identity and any known mailing address of its Internet services subscriber.

McDowell gave Suddenlink 20 calendar days to comply with the order.

“It is our duty as a healthcare entity and our obligation to the community to protect our patients’ rights to privacy,” said Kim Fox, a spokesperson for Essent. “We are morally and legally compelled to do everything we can to stop these violations.”

PRMC contends on several occasions, a blogger published “false and misleading statements with malice, with a reckless disregard for truth or falsity and with negligence in failing to ascertain the truth of the statements.”

In its suit, the hospital said the blogger falsely accused the hospital of criminal wrongdoing in the operation and management of the hospital, including but not limited to Medicare fraud.

The hospital said the blogger’s statements were designed to and did harm to the plaintiff’s reputation and lowered the hospital in the estimation of the community and the medical services market and discouraged people from associating and dealing with the hospital.

The hospital said the blogger or bloggers claimed their information was coming from hospital employees, a contractual breach of the employee labor confidentiality agreement.

The hospital said one of the bloggers’ statements issued on or about Feb. 13, under the alias of Frank Pasquale said: “Apparently Medicare fraud is in the air, and PRMC is looking for a scapegoat. Billing practices from the rehabilitation unit are suspect, as well as vascular ultrasound studies billed by the hospital, but done by unregistered technologists.”

Another statement attributed to the blogger said: “This isn’t Nashville or Boston or Dallas or Austin. It is a community that you wounded and are sucking out the life’s blood. We don’t like your style of vampires.”

The blogger also is alleged to have said: “Until Essent takes a reversal in direction, or just sells us, I’m going to burrow through their garbage and show it to the world.”

The hospital lawsuit said the bloggers’ comments are seen throughout the United States and worldwide, and a potential customer or patient of the hospital who uses Internet resources to search for medical health care might be directed to the blog.

It contends someone using a search engine for the terms related to PRMC is provided with a direct web-link to the blog in the list of top 10 results.

The hospital contends the blogger’s alias and “assumed perona” of Frank Pasquale is apparently intended to mislead readers of the blog to think the blogger is Frank Pasquale, associate professor of law at Seton Hall Law School.

That Frank Pasquale is a regular contributor to several blogs, but denies any affiliation to the blog or the blogger and was unaware the blogger had appropriated his identity until it was brought to his attention by the hospital.

The hospital said the blogger began his Web site in March of 2005, and said individuals who disclose individually identifiable health information may be fined up to $50,000 and imprisoned up to a year and, if the offense is committed for personal gain or with malicious harm, the fine may be up to $250,000 and imprisonment may be up to 10 years.

The lawsuit was filed by Paris attorney Wes Tidwell.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Anonymous said...

Well, for the three people in northeast Texas that didn't know about the blog, they now have the address, thanks to the snooze.

Lets make sure some former patients and former employees are on the jury.

I think we got under their skin just a tad bit, huh, Frank? He, he

Anonymous said...

(Fie on)Essent, the horse they rode in on, and the boat that brought them over here. Methinks another blogger is the target of a lawsuit.

I know at one time you reported they were snppoing around at the Attorney General's office trying yo find way to shut you down, but I see nothing here that would or should bring down the wrath of lawyers............unless you got one stupid or crooked enough to write up some BS charge to justify a suit.

With Essent going downhill, the ship's rats are getting restless.

Anonymous said...

Hmm, lets think about this- if Dux's comments regarding HIPAA violations which are alleged to have taken place on this blog are found NOT to have occurred, then who has a lawsuit against who, or Dux, that is????

Anonymous said...

The preposterious item in the The Paris News is ridiculous!!! Essent wants to sue someone because they are killing people and not ONE SINGLE attorney in Paris, TX will do anything about it. Yet, when there are claims which are protected by freedom of speech, they're all on it!!! I personally know of 5 people who died as a result of misconduct on the hospital's part!!! It's time the citizens of Paris stood up and did something. I laughed the whole time I read that article because it talked about lowering the morale of the public and them losing customers because of it. I honestly didn't think the morale of the Paris public could get any lower of the health system here. The health system in Dallas is actually aware of the problem also as most of the people from Paris seek healthcare in the Dallas area!!!!! Maybe they should think about that first before trying to attack a free willed citizen!!!!!

Anonymous said...

So, let me get this straight, HOWARD THE DUX, really, really believes he is capable of routing the bloggers by mere threats of impending lawsuits. The boy is definitely crackers for sure. But then again, with his premier statment of no "B,M,W"..........yup, we all were simply AWED by that briliant and well thought out statement.
Uh-huh, remember Howard, Fearless Fosdick was, after all, YOUR predecessor, not ours. Ahhhh whaddayutz!

Anonymous said...

I don't understand - after reading both articles in the Paris News - are they talking about suing for HIPAA violations or are they suing for damages to their reputation because of negative statements made here?

I am a blog reader but I really don't think there is such a large part of the greater Paris population that is aware and bases decisions on medical care from reading this blog that the effect would be noticed. (Well, at least until the URL was published in the paper....)

I wonder if by giving this blog free publicity, they haven't shot themselves in the foot.

Anonymous said...

This is a witch hunt plain and simple. First to hunt down and kill the blog and then to hunt down and fire any employee who might be posting on it. Grab your torches and pitchforks!

Anonymous said...

You might want to post a link to this - http://digg.com/health/Local_Hospital_Threatens_to_Sue_Bloggers/

Anonymous said...

Since I don't subscribe to the Snooze, does someone have a copy of the statement Duckboy made that accompanied this article? And can it be shown here?

Anonymous said...

Word is out now that they are getting rid of all the anesthesiologists and are going to allow the nurses to give anesthesia in order to save money. That should restore confidence in the patient population.

Anonymous said...

Well guys and gals, I emailed the article to a former attorney who is a HIPAA expert. He saw NO HIPAA violations.

PRMC cant take action against individuals, the only violations are those comitted by THE PROVIDER. CMS and Health & Human Services has to take action, NOT PRMC.

This is nothing more than an attempt to go after a few employees.

I can tell you about a personal experience- which I witnessed in the ER. Patient was given a combination of 2 medications by a FNP in the Fast Track. Those combos of meds can cause seizures when combined. He still has headaches and issues to this day.

There are numerous stories like this.

I suggest creating a PAYPAL account and allowing people to donate to the legal defense fund!

PRMC won't ever win.

We all need to stand by "Frank".

Wes Tidwell is a moron for even taking the case.

Suddenlink won't ever be able to comply with the order-- too many people from Suddenlink's ISP hit the site. There is no way they can tell who is who.

I think a countersuit needs to be filed.

Maybe ETMC will buy us- Elmer Ellis is a Paris native, and their CEO!

Anonymous said...

this is a 1st ammendment case...THE RIGHT TO FREE SPEECH! Where is an attorney to block this

Anonymous said...

Suddenlink won't ever be able to comply with the order-- too many people from Suddenlink's ISP hit the site. There is no way they can tell who is who.

What they would have to do is supeona Blogger.com to provide them access logs for this site. The access logs will reveal the IP address, time and date of the person or persons who posts the main articles to the blog. Once they have a IP address it's as simple as finding out which ISP owns the IP address and then they can supeona them for their access logs. Once they have all this information is easy to find the user account that was associated with the IP address during the time the article was posted.

If they are going directly to suddenlink they must already have a IP address or IP Addresses that they need.

Anonymous said...

This is a standard SLAPP-suit

see:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SLAPP

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=SLAPP-suit%2C+TX&btnG=Google+Search

for more...

Anonymous said...

I'm a HIPAA attorney and based on what I've seen so far, I don't see any disclosures of patient information. Also, libel law has been fairly permissive about use of heated language in discussing matters of legitimate public concern, e.g., in Greenbelt Publishing Assoc. v. Bresler the use of the word "blackmail" was deemed protected with the Supreme Court commenting "debates regarding Bresler’s negotiations with the city were “heated, as debates over controversial issues usually are” and that “it is simply impossible to believe that a reader who [read] the word ‘blackmail’ in either article would not have understood exactly what was meant . . . no reader could have thought that either the speakers at the meetings or the newspaper articles reporting their words were charging Bresler with the commission of a criminal offense.”

Anonymous said...

Moshers wife was escorted off campus and the whole thing buried (untill now that is)I hope the feds do f/u on this gross violation while they are looking for" nothing of any consequence "done by the blogger or the posters.

Anonymous said...

Hey!

Paris News is to be commended for listing the URL! I didn't know about this site and I live here! But I do now!

I was too busy over at CorridorWatch.org and wondering why the local paper would not say a word about the coming NAU, loss of US sovereignty, open borders, death of the US middle class and the like, especially with two minor legs of the superhighway coming up 19/24 and down 82! But hey, Paris News, some of us will know to whom to apply the tar and feathers!

But what a great site! These truths need said!

I'm retired military and ST.Joe
( Or whatever else you want to call it) is not listed by Uncles provider as a hospital I can go to...It's not "full Service." My doctor is in New Boston and I go to ETMC in Tyler. Expensive in gas lately but worth it! I've never been to ETMC over Clarksville way but it's an option.

Like I said, I live here and so far what I'm reading is a FACT!

Are there rats in our Just-Us department? Looks like it!

Keep up the good work, Paris-Site... You just earned another loyal reader!

Anonymous said...

I can't believe the audacity of the judge that is ordering Suddenlink to provide the addresses of bloggers...you think Suddenlink wants to be sued for releasing information about their customers...I'll drop them like a hot potato and get Dish if they divulge my name or address. I have read this blog a lot, and NEVER, NOT ONCE have I ever seen any ONE patient's name or even enough detail to say it was a HIPPA violation...PLEASE. They're just pissed because we have somewhere we can talk about their excuse for healthcare administration. I agree... witch hunt it is.. but do they really think that people aren't going to talk about the poor care that ourselves and family members have received there? The staff is caring, the ones that haven't been beaten into oblivion, where they're just trying to survive in an understaffed environment. Amazing. Good luck to everyone as we are set ablaze at the stake. I guess I'll be deemed ineligible for rehire. LOL!!! Best thing I ever did was resign!!!!

Anonymous said...

They, E$$ent can cry because of the lack of business, maybe the should investigate their own business practice first. They squashed knowledgeable employees, because the employees know right from wrong. Conform or be fired.

Some of us still have ETHICS
Their own HR has been handed in writing critical violations yet they continue the violations. Some of these are $10,000 fines per occurrence, yet they hope the smoke screen fades these illegal practices. If the Feds investigate I hope the look without blinders on. Investigate fully.


Nice to see (2 years late) the snooze recognizes the shipwreck at PRMC. Think the can publish anything else. News published in a timely fashion, love it.

Anonymous said...

I wonder what the statute of limitations is on harassment here in Texas? That was the reason I left the hospital.

Anonymous said...

If someone has posted on a blog from your computer, and it wasn't you, are you responsible for what they said on your computer?

Anonymous said...

I returned to Paris appoximately three years ago after many years as part of management teams in several locations. None of my assignments were in the health care industry. Nevertheless, the issues I faced appear to be similar to issues posted on this blog, i.e., employees who are dissatisfied with (some of) the decisions made by their superiors. When management teams are unable to address the cause of the dissatisfaction occasionally some of the employees become disguntled and begin sniping about other (perceived) incorrect decisions. The situation takes on a life of it's own and soon begins to snowball.

That being said, my experience is that it comes down to a very basic but crucial decision which must be made by each unhappy employee: Do I feel that the situation is so intolerable that I should seek employment elsewhere OR are the pay/location/benefits/etc. worth the aggrevation. The hospital owners and their appointed management teams have the right to make decisions which, AS THEY DETERMINE, are in the best interest of their shareholders. Unfortunately, every individual affected by these decisions is not always happy about said decision. Such is life.

As an outsider who has looked into the situation via this blog it appears that some are very unhappy. I understand the comments that some post which state that this is a venue that allows some venting of emotions. However, the venting does not appear to be resolving any perceived problems.

Anonymous said...

Is it true that there is not any lawyers in Paris ,Texas that will go up against PRMC,even if it is a STRONG case against them.(PRMC)

Anonymous said...

"Is there a better hospital model?"

Anonymous said...

Regarding the last post 3:50PM.............as everyone knows, you want something legal taken care of, DON'T hire a Paris attorney, do research and hire an attorney out of the DFW area. The locals are TOO tied into the homie network in Paris. If you want to spend your money, do it where it will be advantageous for you...........namely Dallas/Ft Worth!

Anonymous said...

Since there are no (and I repeat NO) indications of HIPAA violations on ANY post in the blog, the plaintiffs have no leg to stand on there. They complain about decreased use of the hospital, but are pointing fingers at the wrong places, instead of who they see in the mirror. Besides the blog, people on the street also talk about what they've heard from folks who have gone there and may work there- will Essent go as far as to "shut them up" too? How far will they go to silence critics? Are they to resort to building a high wall around each facility, if not the community, and block all incoming information to filter out what they percieve as "bad" news? Will the employees be forced, blackmailed, and otherwise threatened into silence? WIll random beatings, injections of sodium pentathol, cameras everywhere, etc. be the order of the day at Essent facilities?

Here's an idea, radical though it may sound: Stop treating the employees as cannon fodder, the enemy, stray dogs you can beat to do your will. Instead, actually put effort into improving the environment of healthcare so that patients will have pleasant experiences, and prospective employees will beat the door down to get hired on, rather than to escape. Forget the Potemkin village-type tactics, and FIX WHAT NEEDS FIXED. Replace what cannot be fixed, upgrade as needed (and it's needed all over), give employees free reign to offer suggestions, rants (even worker bees need to blow off steam), etc.- employees can be a company's best resource if treated right.

Move EVERYTHING onto one campus, and raze the landlocked one (or sell it to someone to turn it into seomthing useful). Adding new buildings will be needed, but if it's needed, do it. There's plenty of room to grow on the north Loop area, and the facility out there is better laid out- it will need additions and some renovations, but it's a good core for a combined facility.

Better yet, since the present ownership has not provem themselves to either be effective administrators (three CEOs in 3 years, last three attempts to purchase new property failed) nor well-heeled (four out of five are in the red, and the one that isn't is barely breaking even), sell off PRMC to a firm that knows something about hospital administration and has been at it for quite a long time with success (unlike Essent, which, sadly, hasn't).

First the new ownership, then the other things need to take place. Then and only then will Paris have a hospital they can be proud of, and not made ther mad dash to Dallas, Greenville, Sherman/Denison, or Tyler for healthcare.

Jeanne said...

Hi--I read the news reports about the lawsuit against your blog, and as a fellow blogger I wanted to write and wish you well.

Also to give you the link to the post I put on my blog about the lawsuit.

Good luck in your crusade. I hope your posts spark an investigation of the hospital's practices.

http://www.assertivepatient.com/2007/06/hospital-sues-1.html

Jeanne
The Assertive Cancer Patient
www.assertivepatient.com

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
If someone has posted on a blog from your computer, and it wasn't you, are you responsible for what they said on your computer?


If you are owner of said computer, yes you can be held laible.

Anonymous said...

12:40PM: the difference between healthcare and other businesses is that when management decisions are made it effects patient care which can literally be a matter of life and death. The reason so many PRMC employees are upset, angry and venting here is not just because they are being treated unfairly (which they are) but because patients are suffering from the micromanaging and bottom line thinking being done at corporate level.
Essent can blame the blog if it wants to, but they did the damage to themselves first.

Anonymous said...

Question. If the blog's logs are supeonaed, will they show the IP addresses of all the posters? This is really getting into an invasion of privacy now.

Dee Martin said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Well now, in today's Snooze, an editorial about PRMC that is NOT all sunshine and puppies, along with a letter to the editor seriously doubting Dux's ability to pull off what he claims he can.

Of course, they only reacted when someone else not employed by the Snooze said something.

The letter was signed- more power to him.

Anonymous said...

To the Editor:

In Re: Christopher Dux's recent comment in The News on improving PRMC:

He is correct in that the desire to serve the patient must be rekindled, but the question is, how and why did that desire get lost in the first place? Granted it took a hit when the two hospitals became one, but it really came under fire when Essent bought the facility in 2004.

Ask yourself, if you have the guts, why a facility that claims itself to be a for-profit organization is losing money in four out of its five facilities; is turned down for ownership in its last three acquisition attempts (two of them being Muskogee, Okla. and Weatherford); and has had three CEOs in town in the last three years. Couple this with the conditions Essent has let the facilities and equipment go to and the low patient census, and then ask yourself (if you dare) if this is the right ownership for the area.

Attitudes must change, true, but in this case so must the management, from Machavelliam policies to pro-employee, pro-physician, pro-patient policies. If the ownership cannot make these changes, perhaps it's time to change ownership.

Anonymous said...

Hey Suddenlink...just to let you know that I've been a loyal customer of yours for over 7 years, with several different services that I pay you for monthly...if you don't get some lawyer action going, or decide to roll over and feed your customers to the dogs at PRMC I'm sure I won't be the only customer that you lose.
How can you let the people of Paris be harassed and penalized for speaking out about the quality of healthcare that they and their families are receiving??
Believe me, we're all watching to see how you step up to the plate, or foul out on this!

Anonymous said...

If I want to say something about MY health or MY health care treatment, I see nothing that is anyone's business but MINE if I say it, write it or publish it. It is MY health I am worried about. I don't see any reason for anyone to be stupid enough to sue me because I am afraid I will have to be admitted to that hospital again. It is MY life and MY death that is involved here!!!

Anonymous said...

I keep going back to the 6:38 comment where the writer thought that the lawsuit was really directed at a blogger and not Frank or the blog.

That has me wondering if they may want to attack a good employee because that employee brought up numerus HIPPA, state and federal violations to HR (her Buttness: CP), and they fear this employee will take it public because the information provided was sent to the circular file and never acted on.

Also, whoever wrote that note obviously has some inside information the rest of us don't have.

Anonymous said...

I don't need to leave my name. At the north campus, I assure you that they KNOW who I am. (and you think that makes me feel good to think that one day have I might have to go there for day surgery for myself??? I don't think so) (unless they have done this to hundreds of people and maybe forgot me but I doubt it) My daughter is dead. She died at age 27 in 1998. I took on the role of being legal guardian, grandmother and all else to her sons since her death. Each month they receive a check from Social Security and also a page is received through the mail each month that shows ALL INFORMATION as to WHO they are, WHO I am, WHAT our relationship is, that they are COVERED medically for that month for ANYTHING that is needed!!! It is impossible to get that form each month unless you have shown Social Security the proper documents. You shouldn't have to show the PERSONAL documents to everyone else the rest of their lives every time a child needs care to anyone with a band-aid !!!!! My grandson needed minor day surgery and while he was IN surgery, it was decided that he might have been abducted and they refused to do the surgery. They didn't belive I was his grandmother and legal guardian even though I had the necesssary papers and he had been To The SAME HOSPITAL AND BEEN TREATED BEFORE WITH THE SAME INFORMATION!!! You cannot get the papers I gave them unless you first prove to Social Security that you are WHO you are and WHAT your connection is to that child. (and that is a serious thing to do) He is nearing 18 years old. I think he would have told them if some old lady had kidnapped him. They made him wait until I went home and looked through old file cabinets to search for documents that showed the court order that I was his legal guardian and it had to be signed by a judge. Do you have any idea of the trama that I went through because of that? I was told that the doctor that was to do the surgery had no problem with doing the surgery at all. I had been to his office, talked to him by phone and have high respect for him. The problem, I was told was that one of the nurses in "surgery" refused to follow through with the surgery until certain documents were produced. How can some nurse over-ride a doctor's decision? I had loaned my vehicle to someone that needed to go to Houston to a family funeral so I was driving an old pickup that had no inside handle to open the driver's door. I had a fractured elbow and couldn't open it even by lowering the window. I had a ruptured disk and could not deal with the FOUR waiting rooms that different people kept sending me to. I have a history of heart attacks and am being treated for panic attacks. This visit could have been so simple. I don't blame the doctor. I just STILL WANT TO KNOW WHY SOME NURSE IN THE OPERATING ROOM OR ASSIGNED TO FOLDING LAUNDRY had the right to over-ride the doctor and require documents that were not necessary. This was an absolute nightmare trip that should have had my grandson out in a couple of hours. I wasn't even allowed to sit in a certain waiting room. Everyone kept telling me to go to a differnt one than the last one had told me. I finally told the girl at the "back" door that if they decided that he wasn't kidnapped after all and they decided to release him to me, I would be easy to find. I sat in a chair in the hall and watched her work. I think she was very, very glad when he was dismissed to me. What has happened to common sense? Don't the letters from Medicaid mean anything to that hospital anymore? Do I need to carry custody papers in my purse at all times in the event that same nurse might be on duty?
God help us all...........

Anonymous said...

I was taken into surgery from ICU with my blood pressure so low that I could have died already. Obviously, they had to send me back to ICU with the plug still in my groin (without doing the surgery) that never stays in very long but they kept it in me for over 24 hours. I have photos of the bruises it caused. Two dinner plates wouldn't cover them up. They would give NO information to anyone here in Paris about my condition because my family is all in Houston. The one contact I had here to notify my family was not allowed any knowledge execpt that I was "stable" At one point she was not even allowed into ICU to see me even during visiting hours. We could see why later. She has since become my 'sister' in the event I am unlucky enough to have to go back to that hospital. I am telling you that it was a nightmare. Sue me if you want to but stop trying to kill me.

Anonymous said...

I just sent an email to the "Electronic Frontier Foundation" to find out why they haven't involved themselves and their counsel in this bogus litigation.
Hopefully you will receive help from them.
It seems that Essent Healthcare bringing this to court is only focusing attention to your cause.
Had they just left "well enough" alone I would never had heard of this situation but now the whole IT world knows about it.
Congratulations Essent you just stepped in your own "puddle" by virtue of: http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9026298&source=NLT_PM&nlid=8

Anonymous said...

Question. If the blog's logs are supeonaed, will they show the IP addresses of all the posters? This is really getting into an invasion of privacy now.

10:31 AM

Thought I'd better answer that one. The blog itself doesn't track the posters, I've got an add-in that lists the last 100. However, I don't keep the log, and since I didn't opt for the larger memory, the history of the comments is --history....frank

The lawsuit only lists one IP address of the John Does, so seems unlikely that they tracked back anyone else...but I have been suprised as to how far they will go....

Anonymous said...

There are some members of my family that go to Medical City in Dallas with ANY and ALL medical needs, even the emergencies with auto hazard lights flashing enroute. They are terrified to go here. They have been in this hospital before. They are still alive. 'nough said. If you sue me, they will still go to Medical City if they have a problem. If the truth hurts, don't sue something.........CHANGE SOMETHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!