They have been charged with second-degree murder. (via a reader tip)
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{ 8 comments }
Good luck getting a conviction and if by some miracle it does happen, good luck seeing any reasonable prison time. We recently had a DO (not even an MD) that got high on meth and beat his wife for two hours. He was charged with murder but convited on lesser charges. His sentence? Probation. Please tell me that a plebeian methhead wifebeater would have gotten probation for the same conviction. This scumbag’s lawyer is even making noises about having the Osteopathic Board reinstate his methhead wifebeater’s license reinstated.
I fail to see any correlation between a drug addicted, wife abuser and the Doc’s and nurses in New Orleans who were laboring under horrific conditions. I read early reports of this happening in New Orleans, and the intent was to reduce suffering, not to “off” patients for the thrill of it. Unfortunately the right-to-lifers will run with this story, offering it as another example of the “culture of death” they allege is promoted by the medical and hospice communities.
I suspect this has been a regular practice on battlefields, and I see no difference in this instance.
the first comment is basically just prejudice against DO’s.Is he a doctor?
What if it was your parent that these medical professionals decided to “off”. Would you be beating the drum for immunity from negligence for physicians then?? Its only when charges or lawsuits are filed that the general public finds out there really are some bad docs out there. Since they can’t figure it out, a Judge or jury needs to tell them what they did was wrong.
If my fragile, elderly, parents were suffering in the same situation, then I would KISS the hand of anyone who had the courage to relieve their suffering. Characterizing this as an instance of “bad docs” is reprehensible. We’re talking about a handful of staff who were abandoned by administration. They were rationing the meager amount of fluids they could get their hands on, reserving it for patient use. Staff waited until they were dehydrated and them administered IV fluids to one another. Gripes, they were defecating in medical waste bags, so as to not add to the pools of raw sewage. They should get a medal.
Amazing that they’re charged and Tenet is apparently blameless.
first commentor: DOs are full physicians, so that snarky comment only shows your ignorance and/or general douchebaggery. an MD could have done the same thing or worse, and many have.
as for the doc and nurses in NOLA, it’s terribly sad that they either had to resort to mercy killing or were directed to do so by hospital administration. being brought up on murder charges for it is even scarier- because how many of us know what we would in a similar situation?
I am so sick of hospital administrators and corporations using their employees, doctors and especially nurses as scapegoats. They have no regard for what they are doing to these peoples lives, they don’t care and they will get off scot free for poorly providing their employees with any other resort.
While I don’t know what I would do in this situation, I would never assume that it was wrong. I could not cause I wasn’t there. It is always easy to take the high road when you are Monday morning quarterbacking.
What if it was your parent that these medical professionals decided to “off”.
What if it were yours? Would you rather have your loved ones to suffer for days in 110 degree heat without food or water and then die anyway or would you rather they die painlessly and quickly? What about yourself? Would you have loved to just lie there and die slowly?
My mother said that if she had been a patient she’d want someone to relieve her suffering rather than let her suffer. Knowing how my parents feel, I’d be glad if someone honored her wishes in a similar situation.
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