Cancer patients at Modesto hospital pressured to choose end-of-life care, lawsuit claims
Colleen Ursini didn’t give up on her 58-year-old husband and the doctor who treats him for cancer.
A year ago, her husband Nicholas was at Doctors Medical Center in Modesto for treatment of pneumonia when hospital staff told him death was near and they pushed for end of life care, Ursini says in a declaration for a lawsuit.
The Ripon woman said the staff surreptitiously gave him the hopeless prognosis after she went home to take a shower. When she returned, a “do not resuscitate” bracelet had been placed on his hand and Nicholas said they “told me I am going to die any time now,” Ursini says in a sworn statement.
Her tearful husband had taken off his oxygen mask. Colleen put it back on, called for the head nurse and demanded treatment for his pneumonia
A year later, cancer treatment has greatly shrunk the tumor in her husband’s lung and he breathes on his own, Ursini says.
“You can live for four or five years if you continue with the treatment,” says Ursini, who’s willing to testify on behalf of Modesto oncologist Robert Williams, who filed a blistering lawsuit last week against DMC and other defendants.
The lawsuit cites numerous cases in which in-house doctors at the hospital pressured cancer patients to opt for end-of-life care. In some instances, cancer treatment or other procedures needed by patients were not provided, the suit alleges.
Ursini says an in-house doctor or “hospitalist” did not consult with Williams about her husband’s condition.
Other patients and their families are vouching for the skills and knowledge of Williams, who is facing disciplinary action over his disagreements with hospital policies and conflicts with fellow staff members at Doctors.
Williams, whose education included Harvard Medical School and a research fellowship at Yale University, claims that officials with Stanislaus County health services, where he previously worked, and Doctors tried to stop him from opening his private practice in October 2011. He also claims that hospital officials want to revoke his privileges at Doctors, first awarded in 2003.
“He feels they are retaliating against him for speaking up for the way patients are treated,” said Bay Area attorney Sunena Sabharwal, who’s representing the cancer specialist. “He wants justice for his patients and wants his patients in the future to be treated with the care and dignity they deserve.”
The attorney is seeking an injunction to stop any hospital disciplinary action against Williams, who is 73. A hearing is set for March 19 in Stanislaus Superior Court.
Williams charges that in the past several years he complained about patient care at Doctors and especially about policies “that were instituted to pressure cancer patients to choose hospice and end-of-life care while ignoring other medical conditions that could have been treated to extend their lives.”
It’s a serious charge as hospitals grapple with rising health care costs, and newer treatments offer more options for cancer patients to extend their lives, further complicating end-of-life decisions.
The lawsuit claims that nurses and hospitalists retaliated against Williams, telling patients he was incompetent, “stupid” or crazy, and hospital staff didn’t follow his treatment orders.
In 2012, Williams made headlines after filing what one news service called a “scorching” lawsuit against the Stanislaus Health Services Agency, claiming fraudulent billing and dumping of indigent adult cancer patients on the Medi-Cal program. Williams also dialed up the heat for his lawsuit against Doctors.
It details six or more instances of postponed surgery, misdiagnoses or delayed cancer treatments alleged to have resulted in patient deaths. In some cases, hospital staff recommended hospice care for cancer patients who were in remission or were not terminally ill, the lawsuit claims.
The suit also cites cases of family members or Williams resisting hospital staff referrals for hospice care. The complaint says those patients are still alive today.
The suit suggests that part of the reason for the alleged actions was an attempt to increase profits by removing patients with inferior insurance from hospital beds.
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