Holy Cross Hospital: Unethical, Dishonest, Dangerous

Antibiotics cut in half and 40% never delivered, guaranteeing a bad outcome.
Doctors refuse family’s plea for life-saving treatment, abandon patient.
Records falsified.

Dead on Arrival — How My Father Was Abandoned at Holy Cross

It breaks my heart to know that my father was treated as an end-of-life patient solely because of his age, and ultimately euthanized — in truth, killed — against his wishes at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Israel Neustadter, peace be upon him, survived the horrors of Auschwitz only to fall victim to the hubris of Holy Cross. He suffered from no terminal condition, other than being 91 and about to turn 92. He lived at home, walked to synagogue each day, and cherished the chance to pray and to connect with his community.

This was his first hospitalization — his first and only bout with pneumonia — and he was a full-code patient who was on the mend. Didn’t my father deserve to have his wish to fight for life, on his terms and in keeping with his faith, honored?

According to the hospital lawyers, “Neither Dr. Kariya nor Dr. Weiner (pulmonologists under hospital contract) believed reintubation was in the patient’s best interests and accordingly never recommended this course of treatment for him.”

Absent catastrophic illness, end-stage cancer or pain, was it really in my father’s best interests to die? Wasn’t such misguided paternalism long ago replaced by patient autonomy and informed consent? And what of adherence to the state law & hospital policy that mandated treatment in my father’s case?

The medical record somehow omits that attending physician Shahid Shamim handed my father’s care off to Dr. Weiner and left the hospital. Dr. Weiner refused to intubate, making the shocking declaration that my father was “dead the day he got here.” He left no documentation, ensuring that his presence and his actions would never appear in the record.

All of this undoubtedly explains why the “Discharge Summary,” written by admitting and attending physician Dr. Ahmed Nawaz , falsely claims that the doctors had a long conversation with me about my father’s need for intubation — and that I supposedly decided against it.

According to the hospital directors, “Nursing probably knew additional life support measures were not planned for your father and there was no action for them to take…”

In a setting that demands detailed history taking, treatment plans clearly laid out, progress notes meticulously written, and DNR orders prominently displayed, do the words “probably knew” have any place? Wouldn’t honest nursing notes document a pivotal change in the treatment plan, a breakdown in continuity of care, or a significant decline in the patient’s condition?

Holy Cross recently opened a seniors emergency room replete with soothing colors, extra-thick mattresses and relaxing music – but a senior about to be admitted would do well to be nervous rather than comforted. Maryland’s Office of Health Care Quality begrudgingly cited Holy Cross for failing to have a certificate in my father’s chart before withholding treatment and allowing him to die — while choosing to ignore the more serious issues of patient abandonment and record falsification. The hospital has been flagged for many other violations as well but never penalized; mere paperwork deficiencies to a protective OHCQ.

Shame on the hospital, and shame on the State of Maryland for refusing to hold anyone accountable or to even talk to any of the doctors involved. My father’s record hides willful negligence and shirks accountability at every turn.

Holy Cross’s eagerness to play God with life-sustaining treatment, its tolerance of falsified records, and its institutional bias against aggressive care stand in stark contrast to Judeo-Christian values — and pose a clear risk to seniors who require ICU treatment. An elderly patient could easily find himself with an insurmountable strike against him at Holy Cross Hospital. Like my dear father.