Thrive to Survive
© By Dottie L. Heffron
Researching for this article, I found myself whirled into the quagmire of Kaiser Permanente. I immersed myself into hundreds of stories, lawsuits and web pages all claiming horrific treatment by Kaiser Hospitals and Kaiser doctors alike. I had no idea that Kaiser had been caught patient dumping, let alone defected doctors writing books about their time spent at Kaiser called "The Killing Fields" and "Talk about Kaiser Chutzpah."
Sometimes we get blinded by what we are shown on the outside, all shiny and bright, and we tend to take things at face value. We forget to delve deeper into issues until it affects us or our loved ones. Then and only then, we think to ourselves, hey wait a minute that is not right and then start to question the authority that put the issue into place. This is where I found myself.
One story in particular kept haunting me, the story of John Pellini of the San Francisco Bay area. I interviewed his daughter, Teresa, who was very distraught with the handling of her beloved father by the Kaiser doctors, the Kaiser hospital and the Kaiser medical personnel as well. I viewed videos and pictures all showing horrific treatment by Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Hayward California. Among my first thoughts were, why was Kaiser not held accountable?
Meet John Pellini
John Pellini stood over 6" and weighed 250 pounds when he was taken to the Kaiser hospital. In his prime, John worked three jobs, was in the U.S. Navy and helped his beautiful wife raise a family. He was a strong man, who at 85 was on no medication for any ailments of any kind. He was mentally sharp and had a quick wit. His big mistake came when he leaned over to tie his shoe and heard "a little bit of a crack." He experienced leg pain radiating from his leg to his back and from his back to his leg. Paying it little attention, he went out for the afternoon with a long time family friend, as he did many days.
Being the kind of person who still did everything for himself, Teresa knew he must have felt pretty bad when he agreed to let her make him something to eat Saturday evening. Sunday came and he grew worse with every hour. On Monday he agreed to let Teresa call 911 and have him taken to the hospital to have someone look at his leg. He was in terrible pain, but he walked to the ambulance on his own accord, even though it hurt. Teresa carries the guilt of that phone call to this very day.
Once he arrived at the Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Hayward California, he stayed there for what seemed like a bazillion hours in the emergency room until Teresa called the hospital’s complaint department. Mrs. Pellini, Teresa and her sister were there almost all night with him in the emergency room. The trio, being very tired and whipped out emotionally, decided to go home, shower and regroup. Upon arriving back at the hospital, they found out the hospital had admitted John, moved him to another room and now they couldn't locate him! This was all executed without telling the family.
Teresa's request of the emergency room was that if her father was to get a MRI, it had to be an open MRI. In the presence of the family, she explained to the nurse on duty that her father was a big man and would not fit in the closed MRI. But instructions were ignored. Once they located John, the hospital discovered that they had crammed him into a closed MRI machine and it was "unsuccessful." The nurse even agreed that they should have never done that to him, and now the pain was incredible.
The next step was to drug him with Morphine to the point they could not wake him up. Teresa sat whistling at him as instructed, "Dad, breathe" - to no avail. "He was just so stoned," said Teresa, "he had no water, and they put a plate with a hamburger on it under his nose." She sat in disbelief and thought to herself, 'look at this guy, he is drugged to the point of incoherency and they think he's going to eat a hamburger.'
During the next few hours many different doctors came in. One doctor actually tried shaking John to revive him, but to no avail. Teresa told each doctor, "Look! This man has no water, no substance and he is drugged out of his mind." Dr. Rita Patel was one of the 50 or so doctors that were asked by Teresa if they could administer an IV and place him on a heart monitor. Teresa asked the doctor if she would come out in the hall to have a meeting of the minds, so to speak. "Besides, you're talking in front of my father even though he was fearfully unconscious," Teresa stated.
The following is a statement from Dr. Charles Phillips, Kaiser defector who wrote "The Killing Fields", on Morphine:
"Morphine is a miracle drug to relieve pain, very effectively in most cases. However if given inappropriately, it is a loaded gun.”
The following information is a recipe for MURDER!
Morphine is a deadly drug in cases of COPD or emphysema and should not be given unless specifically warranted for that patient if ordered by a physician or trusted nurse that has actually assessed the patient in person. Oxygen is the preferred treatment for shortness of breath.
No family should rely on such general instructions. Morphine is like a loaded gun, which is so powerful that it can kill a patient by lowering their blood pressure and stopping the breathing."
Once out in the hall, Dr. Patel called in another doctor and they started reading the patient's rights to Teresa. Teresa said, "Wait a minute, that's my father in there, so we're going to work as a team, so to speak." The second doctor and Dr. Patel walk back into the room. Dr. Patel said, "Wait. Don't give him another shot." The other doctor replied, "But I just did."
John was not moved anywhere close to ICU, but continued to receive Morphine to sedate him. The family kept military watch over John, staying by his side 15-20 hours at a time. Just as he would start to come around from his comatose state, staff would come around and sedate him again.
The Easter Sunday before the Pope died, John wanted pictures of some beautiful flowers people had sent him. He asked Teresa to take some, but as she arrived, she had the worst feeling of her life. There laid her father unconscious, yet again. Instead of taking pictures of the flowers, she started taking pictures of her father. Pictures of John's suction lying on the floor are memories that Teresa endures to this day.
Eleven or so hours later, after watching her father gasp for air, all hell breaks loose. They found that John had high carbon dioxide levels. Teresa told the nurse, "Do NOT use a breathing pad on my father, he will aspirate." The nurse looked at Teresa with dismay and stated, "I have never heard of such a thing." His blood pressure shot up and they laid him completely flat to put a breathing pad on him - and he aspirated.
Before they moved him to ICU, the torture included the staff using him like a test dummy, sliding x-ray equipment behind his back and tossing him over liked a stuffed toy. Teresa said, "Hey! Be careful with him." At that time his testicles were all bruised and purple, the hose for his catheter was behind him and then on the floor, where they continued to step on it making his whole front traumatized. All the while they were taking him to ICU, they were laughing. However, Teresa Pellini found little to be pleased about.
When they arrived at ICU, they explained that they had to "take care" of him. With Teresa between the door and the curtain, she hears them call a code blue. She said she knew it was her father. "They locked my mother out, locked my sister out," explained Teresa. Then they called for security. "I heard myself saying to them, 'I know it's my father, isn't it? I know it's my father. It's him, isn't it?" The security guard nodded. It was my father; he had gone into a pulmonary relapse.
Watching her father balance between life and death, there sat Teresa on this little stool. Medical workers were surrounding his bed like they were standing around a roulette table. Sitting silently in shock, she could not believe what was happening to her father. She kept a vigil and watched everything they did. One of the workers pointed to her as if saying, 'there she is.' More and more people kept surrounding the bed like a feeding frenzy, making it impossible for Teresa to see what tasks they were performing.
When they cleared the area, Teresa noted that there was blood on the sheets that surrounded her father. She immediately started to cover it up as she did not want her mother and sister to see it. When she saw the doctor come out of the circle, Teresa said, "You did this to him. You let this happen to him. You knew. You knew he would aspirate. I warned you people all day that this would happen and not one of you would listen to me. You did this to my father." The doctor said nothing.
Can you, for one instant, imagine John Pellini's horror when he became aware he was strapped down to the bed and on life-support? The last thing he remembers is being able to eat on his own, shaving himself, and his loving family being all around. Upon seeing him for the first time after he aspirated, Teresa's sister made a comment, "gosh it looks like dad's been crucified, God forbid." Dr. Richard Park who was in the room said, "Aren't you being a little melodramatic?" They said they had to strap him down because "he is being anxious".
John's son and some friends came to see him in the hospital. During their visit, the life support machine malfunctioned. The hospital has only one person taking care of the life support systems for the entire hospital. The maintenance person was called into the room where he inspected the failing apparatus. He told the nurse he needed a specific part for the machine in order for it to function properly. The nurse replied, "Well, we don't have any more. We will have to order it." At this time, John is trying to let someone know that he can't breathe by pointing at his non-functioning life support. The nurse paid no attention and left the room. At that time, John said he remembers everything before everything went black. He ripped out all the tubes that he was hooked up to - so he could breathe!
Later that day, Teresa received a call from Dr. Richard Park, "Your father is doing perfectly fine and he's off life support, and he should be coming home in a few days." That was so far from the truth. John Pellini was suffocating and he alone pulled out all the wires so he could breathe. If someone hadn't acted, he would have surely died.
John was moved over 11 times and lost by the hospital a few times. Once he was found by Teresa's sister in a quarantine room while at the Kaiser Hayward facility. He received a staph infection, MRSA from the suction being on the floor, and his body received trauma beyond belief.
John Pellini displays horrific bruising he received from his stay at the Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Hayward, Ca.
Enough is enough. After being moved to another hospital, John was finally able to come home. Once home, the Pellinis attempted to sue Kaiser, but the policy with Kaiser is to use a patient arbitration method and they therefore are not accountable in a court of law. The Pellini family tried to find an attorney to represent them during arbitration, but could not find one attorney that would go up against Kaiser. They were ultimately left to represent themselves. Teresa said she would represent her father, but the Kaiser attorneys said policy is that the family cannot be represented by a family member while in arbitration. Kaiser attorneys even accused Teresa of "practicing law without a license" and wanted her arrested and jailed.
How can Kaiser set their own rules of arbitration and ignore national arbitration guidelines? How can they not be sued in a legal court of law, since they choose to govern themselves? Why can't Kaiser be held accountable? Better yet, why are we not making them accountable? Would you want a loved one treated in this manner and learn there are no recourses?
I have learned that Channel 5 dropped the ball in this case and has not done a
follow-up story. Why would Channel 5 drop a story about shabby healthcare, especially since this does not seem to be an isolated case? Kaiser has been involved in "patient dumping" and violations of their kidney transplant program. Is this not important news? To view the Channel 5 video go to:
http://cbs5.com/local/joe.pellini.teresa.2.446500.html.
Unfortunately, John Pellini passed away without getting his day in court. Teresa keeps vigil over her father's case and my resources tell me there will soon be a book published detailing all the events which led to John's passing. The saddest thing is, John Pellini's initial problem
with his leg was never addressed, the very problem he sought help for on the day that would be the beginning of his end.
References:
1. http://kaiserpapers.org/
2. In order to contain costs, Kaiser requires agreement by planholders to submit patient malpractice claims to arbitration rather than litigating through the court system. This has triggered some discussion and dissent.( Chris Rauber.)
"Kaiser fires back in arbitration suit." San Francisco Business Times. February 20, 1998) Some cases proceed to court and one argument is over whether the requirement to go through dispute resolution is enforceable. Kaiser established an Office of Independent Administrators (OIA) in 1999 to oversee the arbitration process. The degree to which this is independent has been questioned. (The Foundation for Taxpayer & Consumer Rights. "'Independent' Administrator Of Kaiser Arbitration System Is Rep For Corporate Lobby" News Release. January 8, 2003)
Wilfredo Engalla is a notable case. In 1991, Engalla died of lung cancer nearly five months after submitting a written demand for arbitration. The California Supreme Court found (Full opinion of the California Supreme Court in the case of Engalla v. Permanente Medical Group, Inc.) that Kaiser had a financial incentive to wait until after Engalla died; his spouse could recover $500,000 from Kaiser if the case was arbitrated while he was alive, but only $250,000 after he died. The Foundation for Taxpayer & Consumer Rights contends that Kaiser continues to oppose HMO arbitration reform (The Foundation for Taxpayer & Consumer Rights. "A Placebo Kaiser Arbitration Bill Killed In Senate Committee: Kaiser's 'Independent' Arbitration System Administrator Lobbies For Kaiser." News Release. April 26, 2000).
Patients and consumer interest groups sporadically attempt to bring lawsuits against Kaiser Permanente. Recent lawsuits include Gary Rushford's attempt to use proof of a physician lie to overturn an Arbitration decision. -
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Kaiser_Permanente, 9/2009
4. http://www.latimes.com/
news/printedition/la-me-dumping16nov16,0,2734413.story
5.http://www.nctimes.com/
news/state-and-regional/article_4f9c34db-42c3-56e7-b12d-01c3e75fc0aa.html .
