Death of young girl prompts Condition H program
Condition H was prompted by the experience of Sorrel King, whose daughter Josie died in 2001 at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore due to medical errors.
Josie was admitted to Johns Hopkins after suffering first and second degree burns from climbing into a hot bath. She healed well and within weeks was scheduled for release. Two days before she was to return home, she died of severe dehydration and misused narcotics.
Sorrel King spent 10 days in the pediatric intensive care unit with her daughter, by her side every day and night. She says she paid attention to every minute detail of the doctors' and nurses' care, and she asked plenty of questions. She was then sent down to the intermediate care floor with expectations of being sent home in a few days.
The following week her central line was taken out, but no one realized that she had been receiving hydration through that line, as well as medications. Sorrel King began noticing that every time her daughter saw a drink she would scream for it, and she thought that was strange. However, the physicians and nurses told her not to let the girl drink. While being bathed, the girl sucked furiously on a washcloth. As Sorrel King put her to bed that night, she noticed that the girl's eyes were rolling back in her head.
She asked the nurse to call the doctor but was reassured that children often did that and that her vital signs were fine.
"I told her Josie had never done this and perhaps another nurse could look at her," Sorrel King says. "After yet another reassurance from another nurse that everything was fine, I was told that it was OK for me to sleep at home. I called to check in two times during the night and returned to the hospital at 5:30 a.m. I took one look at Josie and demanded that a doctor come at once. She was not fine."
When a medical team arrived and administered two shots of Narcan (Endo Pharmaceuticals, Chadds Ford, PA), Sorrel King asked if the girl could have something to drink. The request was approved, and Josie gulped down nearly a liter of juice. Verbal orders were issued for there to be no narcotics given.
As she sat with Josie, Sorrel King thought the nurse on morning duty was acting strangely. She seemed nervous, overly demonstrative, and in a hurry. Other nurses assured her that the woman was an experienced nurse, but she still mentioned her concerns to a doctor, who agreed with her but did not intervene. Meanwhile, Josie was perking up after receiving the liquids. Then the nurse who had concerned Sorrel King came over with a syringe of methadone.
The mother explained that there was a verbal order for no narcotics, but the nurse told her that had been changed and administered the drug. The order had not been changed.
Josie's heart stopped as her mother was rubbing her feet. Her eyes were fixed, and Sorrel King screamed for help. Two days later, Josie King was taken off life support and died in her parents' arms, the victim of a series of medical errors in a hospital having a reputation as one of the best medical facilities in the world.
Condition H was prompted by the experience of Sorrel King, whose daughter Josie died in 2001 at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore due to medical errors.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
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