29 December 2005

If You Don't Like Children's Hospital's Patient Care Quality Then Just Move to Another State

Believe it or not, that was the message to me from the top administrative official today. Her name is Ruth. Rather than focusing on improving patient quality at Children's, Ruth believes parents should uproot their family, change jobs and schools, and incur moving expense instead. Please call Tom Hansen, the CEO of Children's, and voice your opinion on this. His assistant, Susan, can be reached at 206-987-2001.

Seattle Children's Hospital Under Investigation by Department of Health, Seattle Police Department

The Washington State Department of Health and Seattle Police Department's Child Abuse Unit have confirmed they are investigating accusations of unlawful imprisonment and child abuse stemming from an incident with my daughter on Tuesday, December 27.

Any parents who believe they have been denied rightful access to their child during medical procedures and/or their inpatient stay at Children's or who believe their child has not received appropriate care are urged to contact me. Or, you may contact the reporter at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer covering this story: Angela Galloway at 206-448-8333.

We are hopeful that the treatment that Hunter received will never again be repeated once the criminal and regulatory investigations and remedies are complete. My goal is to ensure that the inappropriate actions of a few are not allowed to disrupt the excellent work of the doctors, nurses, and other providers at this important institution that is such a critical resource for our community and its children.