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NEPA residents weigh in on new reboot “Fuller House”

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Happy birthday to Michael Alan Hornick Jr.!

<p>One patient was an unsuspecting veteran undergoing emergency surgery. The other was a rising young star in the medical profession.</p><p>The veteran survived. The 26-year-old female doctor did not. These two hospital-related stories were front page news this week, and both are shocking.</p><p>So far, we don&#8217;t know much about the veteran who was treated at the Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center in Plains Township. But we do know a nurse on his surgical team might have been drunk. If so, what we really need to know is how that was ever allowed to happen. An affidavit stated the nurse nearly fell several times as he made his way into the VA, for crying out loud.</p><p>The other case involves Dr. Jennifer Sidari, who died in 2013 three days after being admitted to the Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center in Plains Township with severe headaches and bruises on her body.</p><p>Her family sued Geisinger, claiming the hospital is responsible for the young doctor&#8217;s death due to a string of errors.</p><p>Anybody following these two stories likely could share some disturbing hospital-related experiences of their own. I know I could.</p><p>A physician&#8217;s assistant claimed that VA nurse Richard J. Pieri was &#8220;definitely not himself&#8221; when he arrived at work on Feb. 4 and had difficulty logging into a VA-issued computer, the affidavit states. It&#8217;s not clear whether the unnamed physician&#8217;s assistant notified anyone of this.</p><p>Pieri had faced workplace disciplinary action, but he resigned and retired Wednesday, the Times Leader reported. He still faces criminal charges of reckless endangerment, driving under the influence and public drunkenness.</p><p>One who immediately sprung into action after hearing that Pieri was still on the job earlier in the week was U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller, chairman of the House Committee on Veterans&#8217; Affairs, who began asking questions. Apparently, it&#8217;s not an easy matter to discipline or fire a civil service system employee.</p><p>Almost every day, Miller said, we are reminded that the system &#8220;is designed to coddle and protect corrupt and incompetent employees.&#8221;</p><p>Well, isn&#8217;t it nice to know that this is what those who have served our country can expect in return?</p><p>Hospital administrators said Pieri&#8217;s alleged behavior violated its core values of &#8220;integrity, commitment and excellence.&#8221; Excellence? Are they kidding? We&#8217;d like to hear from the unidentified veteran.</p><p>As for the late Dr. Sidari, the civil trial began Wednesday. Previous reports described her as a loving, dedicated doctor at the threshold of a bright future. The West Pittston resident was one of the first students to graduate from The Commonwealth Medical College in Scranton.</p><p>Geisinger lawyers plan to cite her exotic travels, including to South Africa and Haiti, and to argue that she might have had an untreatable pre-existing condition. A Geisinger attorney said Wednesday that Sidari had received a typhoid vaccine but it was later recalled and that, during her overseas trips, she &#8220;picked up kids no one else would pick up.&#8221; What a loss to the medical community.</p><p>The hospital&#8217;s lawyers said the young doctor&#8217;s care was &#8220;timely and appropriate&#8221; and &#8220;in accordance with the accepted standard of medical care in the community.&#8221;</p><p>What the heck does that mean? Define accepted standards. Do they vary from community to community? If so, what exactly are the standards here?</p><p>The lawsuit alleges that despite severe headaches and abnormal blood work, the hospital did not immediately bring in a neurologist and only ordered a CT scan of her head 44 hours after she arrived. Sidari was transferred to the hospital&#8217;s Danville facility where she died.</p><p>Experts from Harvard, Yale and the University of Pennsylvania are expected to testify in what is likely to be a compelling trial.</p><p>Frankly, I&#8217;m hoping Geisinger is not found guilty of medical malpractice.</p><p>If the hospital didn&#8217;t jump through hoops to save one of its own, the rest of us might have reason to worry if we ever end up in the hospital or have a loved one who&#8217;s already there.</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>Zeroing In</p><p>Betty Roccograndi</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Betty Roccograndi, a former Times Leader reporter and award-winning journalist, is a freelance columnist. Reach her by email at broccograndi@gmail.com.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Zeroing In: Shocking cases rattle faith in hospitals