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Silence is not a Solution

Felony Prosecution to Silence Brave Nurses Fails

A link to this page: http://tinyurl.com/Texas-Nurse-Silence-Kills-1

Latest News Interview Federal Complaint Local CBS 7 Report Links

http://apps.facebook.com/causes/353772

Dr. Kate Scannell: Doctors and nurses on trial in Texas (Link to an excellent editorial.)

"[I]t's about patient safety, which frequently becomes collateral damage. "

You may be judged by those who you call "friend" (Link to a timely editorial.)

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Re: The Kermit, Texas, felony prosecution of two nurses,

Anne Mitchell and Vicki Galle.

Intimidation of nurses anywhere makes patient care less safe everywhere:

http://tinyurl.com/patient-safety-intimidation

Involved parties: Dr. Rolando Arafiles, Sheriff Robert Roberts, County Attorney Scott Tidwell, and Hospital Administrator Stan Wiley.

Key Facts:

April 2009 - Winkler County Hospital Nurses Anne Mitchell and Vicki Galle provide an anonymous report to the Texas Board of Medicine about questionable medical care rendered at Winkler County Memorial Hospital. ( See pages 25 and 26 HERE.)That anonymous report generates a letter to Dr. Arafiles about care he rendered to patients. (See pages 27 and 28 HERE.) He involves Sheriff Roberts. A criminal investigation begins.

May, June 2009 - Sheriff Roberts seeks to identify the author(s) of the anonymous complaint. (See page 29 HERE.) Search warrants (See pages 32 - 34 HERE.) lead to his finding a copy of the anonymous complaint on the computers of Mitchell and Galle. The two nurses are fired and indicted for ten year felonies. (See pages 37 and 38 HERE.)The Texas Board of Medicine is unsuccessful in educating the local authorities about the laws protecting those who file reports of poor medical care with the board of medicine. (See pages 39 to 42 HERE.) The prosecution goes forward.

July, August, September, October 2009 - This case is discussed in several national healthcare publications including Modern Healthcare (See Pubmed Encyclopedia), RN, and the American Journal of Nursing (here, here and here). Medical news listservs carry stories about the case (Medical News Today,. Nursing groups issue statements and establish legal defense fund supporting nurses Galle and Mitchell. Other than nursing associations (see link), organized medicine is silent. The prosecution goes forward.

November, December 2009 - A state inspection of Winkler County Memorial Hospital corroborates the complaint filed by the nurses earlier in the year. Organized medicine remains silent. The prosecution goes forward.

January, February 2009 - With the exception of one association organized medicine remains silent.Just before trial is to begin, charges against Nurse Galle are dropped. Trial begins on February 8. On February 10 the American Association of Physicians and Surgeons issues press release in support of holding accountable those who criticize physicians. (Press Release) The four day trial results in a verdict of "Not Guilty." Out less than an hour, the jury reaches its unanimous verdict on the first vote.

After the trial, the American Federation of Teachers issues a statement supporting the nurses.

Silence:

The Goal, The Tactic, The Method

While we instinctively celebrate this jury's correct "Not Guilty" verdict, a disturbing message has been sent to everyone in America who cares about safe healthcare. The message is not the one from from Kermit, Texas. It came from Chicago and Washington, DC. It came from Los Angeles and Boston, New York and St. Louis, Cincinnati and Seattle, Phoenix and Miami. It came from hospital associations and doctors. It came from everywhere and nowhere. The message was silence.

Silence was the goal and the method. The bullies wanted to silence the nurses. The bullies wanted to teach a lesson to those who stood up for patients: be silent. This message was not the most troubling. We have come to expect unusual politics in small towns. Is it really so bad that this outrageous prosecution occurred in a tiny hamlet in west Texas? What can the rest of America really know about the private goings on in small towns in west Texas? We really do not know what happened. Can't the Texas court system straighten this out in the unlikely event that the nurses are convicted? Does this really matter so much?

With the exception of the strong support of the nursing community, the nurses were alone.

The truly disturbing response came from almost every corner of America. Empty silence. Loud silence. Intentional silence. Important silence. It seemed as if the rest of organized medicine was showing the nurses and everyone else how to behave when you observe something wrong: be silent.

In this case, the bullies hid behind badges and law licenses. They used search warrants and indictments. Despite their law degrees and badges, they pretended the law did not exist even after being informed by the Texas Board of Medicine. The bullies ignored 45 CFR 164.512(d),and Texas law 217.19, 301.4025, 242.133, 160.012, and 554.002. They assaulted the truth. They damaged the public health. Yet organized medicine remained silent.

Can we trust silence? When patient safety is at stake, we cannot.

Is patient safety compromised by silent nurses?

Patient safety was compromised by the silence of organized medicine in response to this prosecution. Can we trust those who are silent in response to obvious injustice?

Lee Tilson

http://www.rethinkingpatientsafety.com

A link to this page: http://tinyurl.com/Texas-Nurse-Silence-Kills-1

What do you think?

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this COMMENT link,

and scroll to the bottom of the page.

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Today's news updates on the story

San Francisco

http://www.insidebayarea.com/trivalleyherald/opinion/ci_14390525

http://forums.insidebayarea.com/topic/dr-kate-scannell-doctors-and-nurses-on-trial-in-texas?source=article