There was a great story on NPR last night about nursing home care in America: In a large sampling of Medicare patients discharged from hospitals to skilled nursing facilities in one year, roughly a third of the patients were harmed by their treatment in the nursing homes, the study found. Most of that harm could […]
I received a phone call 1 from Dr. Marie Hermann, the chief medical examiner of Volusia County. I quickly — quickly — gave her a summary of the events of the last week and told her that I couldn’t understand why Bob Burch would be so adamant that her office would not perform an autopsy. […]
I called the cell phone number I have for Dr. Peele. 1 I did not expect him to answer, but he did. I said that I was Kathie Gagne’s son and that both a nurse at Fish Memorial Hospital and Dr. Allen Cusack, the manager of the mortuary where my mother’s body is currently located, […]
I called Detective Whittier a few minutes after noon. 1 He correctly assumed that I was in Florida now. He told me he had called the medical examiner’s office this morning, but he had been unable to talk to a doctor. He said that he left a message for the chief medical examiner for Volusia […]
A nurse named Meghan Weir called me from Fish Memorial Hospital. 1 She told me that it was normal procedure when there was a death for them to call the Deland Police Department, and that “they” had been there, “to see if there was a stabbing or a shooting.” She told me that Detective Whittier […]
I called Woodland Terrace and Ida Alvis answered on the first ring. She said, “Woodland Terrace. Ida speaking.” I said, “Ida, it’s David. Did the hospital call you?” Ida said, “Yeah, and I am shocked to hear that —” “All right. Thanks,” I interrupted. As I hung up I could hear her say, “You’re welcome.”
At 3:19 PM PDT my phone rang. I was in the middle of trying to get my son to take a nap and had to run to answer it. I didn’t recognize the number — (386) 943-4522 — but I knew from the area code that it was someone in Florida. “Hello?” I said. The […]
I was sitting in the parking lot of Centinela Feed, a pet store in Los Angeles, when I received a call from Woodland Terrace. It was Ida Alvis. Ida was unimaginably rude and hung up on me at least three times yesterday (Saturday), so I knew if she was calling to talk to me it […]
I called Woodland Terrace and Ida answered the phone. I said, “Hello, Ida,” and she said, “Hello, Mr. Gagne.” I asked her if I could get a phone number for James Thompson, the new administrator. Ida laughed and said, “I’m not giving you his personal contact information.” I said, “I’m not asking for his personal […]
I called Woodland Terrace and Marty answered. I told her I needed to talk to Ida, because I don’t want them to give my mom Risperdal. She said, “Hold on,” and then, “Whoops! That line is busy. She just picked up. Hold on.” After one minute she returned and said, “Hold on,” and then Lisa […]