Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Nancy Valko on Oregon: What hides in the dark?

"No other area of medical practice-even lethal injection-is allowed such secrecy and immunity." Nancy Valko, RN


"What hides in
 the dark?"
Edited by Margaret Dore, Esq., MBA

Note two provisions in Oregon's law:
“The Health Services shall make rules to facilitate the collection of information regarding compliance with ORS 127.800 to 127.897. Except as otherwise required by law, the information collected shall not be a public record and may not be made available for inspection by the public.” (Only an “an annual statistical report of information” is made public.) (Emphasis added.)
And 
No person shall be subject to civil or criminal liability or professional disciplinary action for participating in good faith compliance with ORS 127.800 to 127.897. ” (Emphasis added.)
There is also no requirement that the doctor or anyone else witness or even be present at the lethal overdose.


But why are the activists and  lawyers who write these laws not challenged when they purposely omit  the stringent documentation and oversight required for any other medical intervention by relying on doctors’ self-reporting the process while also granting these doctors virtual immunity from any legal, civil or professional liability for coercion, complications, abuse etc.?

One answer is that this allows the media and even doctors like Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel (one of the architects of Obamacare) to declare:
Euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide are increasingly being legalized, remain relatively rare, and primarily involve patients with cancer. Existing data do not indicate widespread abuse of these practices. (Emphasis added).[1]
The second answer is that these provisions allow assisted suicide doctors  (who obviously have more in common with the infamous Dr. Jack Kevorkian than the iconic Marcus Welby, MD of the 1970s)  to privatize the death and thus prevent any real investigation, followup or even serious medical research as well as allowing the coverup of any problems.

Apparently, nothing can be allowed to interfere with the carefully manufactured image of a kindly doctor helping a patient in excruciating pain to have a quick painless demise.

No other area of medical practice-even lethal injection execution-is allowed such secrecy and immunity.

Nancy Valko, RN
Legislatures and the public need to know and challenge these outrageous provisions as well as being informed about the personal and societal dangers of assisted suicide itself. We must demand truth, transparency and accountability, especially when life and death are at stake.

https://nancyvalko.com/2016/10/05/why-should-physician-assisted-suicide-laws-grant-special-privileges/

Monday, August 1, 2016

Oregon: Jury awards$3 million to fired nurse who complained of 'rushing patients through' to save money

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2015/09/jury_awards_3_million_to_legac.html


By Aimee Green

A Portland jury on Friday awared a nurse more than $3 million -- agreeing that she was wrongfully terminated by Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center after she complained to management that cost cutting measures were jeopardizing patient care. Registered nurse Linda Boly said Saturday that she felt vindicated by the verdict. She hopes it sends a "big message" to Legacy
Health System that "rushing patients through" the process endangers them. . . .

To read the rest of the article, click here.

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Lawsuit alleges Kaiser anesthesiologists told to skimp on anesthesia, rush patients through, save money

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2016/07/lawsuit_kaiser_anesthesiologis.html

A former Kaiser Permanente anesthesiologist has filed a $9 million lawsuit against the health organization, claiming he was fired after he repeatedly complained that cost-cutting measures were jeopardizing the safety of patients in the Portland area.

Among those measures was an August 2014 mandate from higher-ups that anesthesiologists reduce the amount of knock-out or anti-anxiety meds they give surgery patients so the patients would wake up sooner and be discharged as soon as possible, according to a lawsuit filed by Dr. Erik Franck last week in Multnomah County Circuit Court.

Thursday, March 3, 2016

Charles Bentz, MD: Oregon Hospice Not Safe After Assisted Suicide Legalization

Dear Editor:

I read William Clarke’s guest column with interest, as it addresses both assisted suicide and hospice care. (“Don’t deny ‘death with dignity while improving hospice care,” updated 03/02/16).  I am a doctor in Oregon where assisted suicide has been legal since 1997. Since then, I have observed a corruption of Oregon’s medical profession to devalue patients, especially regarding end-of-life care, such as hospice, which is no longer safe.

Patients, generally, are now starting to fear hospice and medical providers such as myself and my colleagues are now avoiding this particular hospice program.  In my opinion, this corruption of the role of hospice can be directly linked to the practice of physician-assisted suicide here in Oregon.  The American Medical Association, Ethics Opinion 2.211, states:
Physician-assisted suicide is fundamentally incompatible with the physician’s role as healer, would be difficult or impossible to control, and would pose serious societal risks.
Unfortunately, here in Oregon, this is prediction is coming true. Keep medicine safe. Tell your legislators to keep assisted-suicide out of Montana.

Charles J. Bentz MD, FACP
Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine,
Division of General Medicine and Geriatrics
Oregon Health & Sciences University
Fanno Creek Clinic
2400 SW Vermont Street
Portland, OR 97219