In July 2012, the NY Times reported on the death of 22 year old Sabrina Seelig. Ms. Seelig presented to Wyckoff Heights Medical Center with poisoning from a diet drug called Ephedra and beer. The hospital gave her drugs to treat her nausea. Later that evening she suffered brain damage, was placed on life support, and died six days later. Ms. Seelig's estate lost its medical malpractice lawsuit after a four-week trial. Defense experts claimed that Ms. Seelig caused her own death. The NY Times hired its own expert to review her medical chart. The expert found that Ms. Seelig received improper care from Wyckoff which caused her death.
Drinking Water Contamination From Hydraulic Fracturing
Hydraulic Fracturing, also known as fracking, is a method of drilling deep beneath the surface to extract shale gas, an energy source. Shale gas is embedded in dense rock, so drillers inject a mixture of water, sand, and chemicals to fracture the rock which opens up fissures in the stone through which the gas can escape. Chemicals used for fracking are often hazardous and cancer-causing agents known to contaminate drinking water near fracking sites.
Select A Doctor As If Your Life Depends On It - It Does
Recently there was an article in the NY Times which reported that most women with ovarian cancer receive inadequate care and miss out on treatments that could prolong their lives. This is because most women are treated by doctors and hospitals that see too few cases of this cancer and lack the expertise to do complex cancer surgery. A woman with ovarian cancer should be operated on by a gynecological oncology surgeon, not a general surgeon.
Prevention and Management of Hospital Acquired Infection
In 2002 there were 1.7 million hospital acquired infection, or 4.5 per 100 admissions, resulting in some 99,000 deaths. The cost of this is estimated to be between 5-10 billion dollars a year. One third or more of hospital acquired infections are preventable.
Infection Caused By Contaminated Steroid
In September 2012 there was an outbreak of fungal meningitis caused by contaminated batches of a steroid made by the New England Compounding Center in Framingham, Mass which was used to inject near the spine to treat chronic back pain. 620 people in 19 states have become ill, most with spinal meningitis. 39 people died.
