Giant HMO Kaiser Permanente is looking for a few good doctors who aren’t worried about that line in the Hippocratic Oath that says: “First do no harm.”
A Triple Edge Sword
An email was recently sent out to over 800 M.D.'s in Oregon (where 'voter approved' physician-assisted suicide is A-OK) asking doctors willing to help patients end it all, to, by all means, be in touch.
When I heard about this gruesome cyber-request I couldn't help wonder what Joyce Brown thought of this. Joyce is a Kelso, Washington R.N. who was convicted of manslaughter because she helped a terminally ill cancer patient with an alternative treatment after his doctors had sent him home to die. Manslaughter — as in evidence-gathering, cops tossing stuff around in her house seizing computers and files. Manslaughter — as in handcuffs, arrest and jail. Manslaughter — as in some guy comes begging a nurse to administer an IV mineral solution as one last hope to stay alive, dies in the process and for that the nurse does the perp walk. That kind of manslaughter.
While the good folks at Kaiser send out a mass emailing asking for docs who'd like to kill to RSVP.
I tell ya.
This is one of those stories that leaves you with a sick feeling. After reading it you'll realize that:
a) the medical/ pharmaceutical cartel has decided FOR you what therapies you may and may not utilize for your health care;
b) that the justice system is working with it in tandem to create a monopoly in which you have little say; and
c) the media can distort and contort the truth with impunity.
Stark Contrast
In August, 2000 a Louisiana man named Edward Steward was told his stomach, colon and liver cancer had gotten the best of him and despite all the “best” cancer therapies he was doomed. He'd tried all the “government-approved” cancer treatments and had spent an enormous sum all to no avail. He'd heard about a product called MICOM (a natural, mineral solution which, though not claiming to be a “cure” was considered a “treatment” for those with serious illness.) Knowing he had but weeks to live, Steward figured he had nothing to lose, so he set out to find someone who'd administer MICOM intravenously. (MICOM was thought to work by raising the oxygen levels of the blood and lymphatic systems. Some researchers believe that certain cancers grow and spread because of low oxygen levels.)
Edward Steward searched the country and found a nurse, Joyce Brown willing to help him go the MICOM route since all other conventional treatments had failed. The MICOM formula was not FDA approved (as if that means anything anymore), but was undergoing preliminary trials. Brown, a woman who eschewed the security and good pay that in-demand R.N.'s command these days, had devoted herself to helping people with natural approaches to health, including good nutrition and daily exercise. A committed Christian, Joyce tried to incorporate spiritual principles in her approach to physical health.
Along came a desperate, dying man who asked her assistance in this last-ditch effort to stay alive a little longer and Joyce agreed. (Contrast her desire to help keep this man alive with those docs being recruited by Kaiser to KILL terminally ill people.)
No Good Deed…
Joyce took this man and his common-law wife into her home and gave him round-the clock care. Charging a mere pittance, she began the MICOM IV she and Steward had hoped would help his body fight for just a little while longer. Hours into the treatment Steward died. From that moment on Joyce Brown's life has never been the same. Media accounts painted this woman as an angel of death. Her legal bills totaled $100,000. She was made to endure a trial where she was convicted of manslaughter and jailed. And to add insult to injury Steward's common-law wife SUED her for $5 million in a wrongful death suit!
Under the category: No good deed goes unpunished. Joyce went to jail (not prison). Now that she's out she can't practice medicine or anything related to healthcare. She's broke and jobless and still facing a mountain of legal bills. From what I've been able to dig up, her lawyer was a joke and she was railroaded BIG time. Law enforcement treated Brown's case as a major drug bust. The D.A. in charge took on no other drug cases during the trial because this was seen as such a huge win in the war on drugs. Can't you just hear the banter down at the cop shop on this case?
“Yup, fellas, Cowlitz County's a safer place since we busted the nurse with the illegal minerals imagine her trying to keep some guy ALIVE! We showed her and anyone else who thinks they have a choice when it comes to their own health care- we will have the ultimate control”. Brown's circus of a trial was replete with all kinds of attractions; a NY doctor who charged $5,000 as an “expert witness” to come and tell the jury “the MICOM killed Edward Steward”. ( This doc had a reputation for being “offended” by any kind of “alternative” health treatment.) Joyce had to re-imburse the state for that expense. The original 4 hour autopsy proved inconclusive as to cause of death. Deputy prosecutor Helko Coppola said of the manslaughter verdict: “this sends the appropriate message that those who engage in the practice of alternative healing and harm someone will be held accountable for their acts”.
As for Joyce Brown, she says she'd do it all over again. “After all”, she points out, ” I don't remember Jesus ever turning anyone away”.
Mary Starrett was on television for 21 years as a news anchor, morning talk show host and medical reporter. For the last 5 years she hosted a radio program. Mary is a frequent guest on radio talk shows.
ACTION: Kaiser heath plan members can contact their local offices by finding your location at its website. Others can send comments to Kaiser Permanente, 25 N Via Monte, Walnut Creek, CA 94598-2510, (925) 926-5781, fax: (925) 926-3750.
