California Nursing Board Executive Officer Ruth Ann Terry Resigns

July 15, 2009 10:31 am EST

From ROBERTO ALEJANDRO GLAUBACH July 15, 2009 7:59 pm EST

From ROBERTO ALEJANDRO GLAUBACH July 14, 2009 8:28 pm EDT

FIRST OF ALL,BEFORE ANYTHING,HERE GOES MY DEEPEST AND WARMEST CONGRATULATIONS TO THE AUTHORS OF “WHEN CAREGIVERS HARM..” CHARLES ORNSTEIN,TRACY WEBER AND MALOY MOORE. THEY PERFORMED A VERY GOOD AND METICULOUS WORK OF INVESTIGATION. IT IS ABSOLUTELLY USEFUL TO KEEP POLITICIANS AND LEGISLATORS “IN MOVEMENT” TO gather and to DISCUSS AND ENACT NEW RULES TO GET A BETTER AND CLOSER CONTROL OVER THIS KIND OF “BOARDS” (INCLUDING THE MEDICAL BOARD OF CALIFORNIA INDEED). AS A DIRECT CONSEQUENCE,NEW LEGISLATION SUPPORTING TRANSPARENCY AND TRUTHFULNESS TO MANAGE HARMED PEOPLE´S COMPLAINTS, WILL HELP TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF HEALTH CARE .THEREFORE PATIENTS ,COMMON PEOPLE, THE “SILENT MAJORITY” FOR SURE,WILL GIVE A HUGE APPROVAL TO THE INCOMING CHANGES AND ,MOREOVER WILL BE MUCH MORE CONFIDENT WITH ITS HEALTH CAREGIVERS.I KNOW -UNFORTUNATELY -OF WHAT I´M TALKING ABOUT.THE CASE OF MY BELOVED DAUGHTER VERONICA,MENTIONNED IN THE ARTICLE IS A CLEAR EXAMPLE OF THE EXISTING SITUATION EMERGING FROM THE PATTERN OF “LAISSEZ FAIRE ” WITH WHICH MOSTLY ALL COMPLAINTS ARE MANAGED BY THESE “ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES”.FOR ALMOST FOUR YEARS I HAD TO ARGUE WITH THE MANAGEMENT ANALYSTS AND INVESTIGATORS OF THE CALIFORNIA NURSING BOARD.DESPITE CLEAR EVIDENCE SHOWING THE UNSKILLFULNESS AND GROSS NEGLIGENCE OF MORE THAN FOUR INVOLVED NURSES,(AND THREE PHYSICIANS AGAINST WHO I SUBMITTED A COMPLAINT BEFORE THE OTHER BOARD,I MEAN THE WELKNOWN MEDICAL BOARD OF CALIFORNIA), DESPITE A TEN SHEETS REPORT SIGNED BY ANALYSTS AND INVESTIGATORS AND SUBMITTED BY THE COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE POINTING NURSES´S AND DOCTORS´S GROSS FAILURES,AS MAIN CAUSES WHICH HEADED MY BEAUTIFUL VERONICA STRAIGHT TO HER BLOODY DEATH,( AN ACCURATE MANAGING OF HER MILD PRECLAMPSIA COULD SAVE HER,BUT THE CAREGIVERS NEVER KNEW WHAT WAS OCCURING FROM THE VERY BEGINING AND THEY LET HER DIE WITHOUT ANY KIND OF ACCURATE TREATMENT,JUST TYLENOL AND MYLANTA…FOR HOURS !!) DESPITE MORE THAN FOUR RENOWNED WITNESS EXPERTS´S REPORTS, DESPITE CLEAR EVIDENCE OF WILLFUL OMISSION OF ENTRIES AND OTHER IRREGULARITIES (PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE´S REPORT IS QUITE CLEAR ABOUT THAT), IRREGULARITIES THAT ARE BORDERING THE LIMITS OF A WILLFUL FALSIFICATION OF THE RECORDS LIKE THE EXISTING “MISSING SHEETS”,FALSE ENTRIES, INTELEGIBLES ,UNSIGNED ENTRIES,DESPITE SEVERAL PERSONAL VISITS TO CHASTWORTH FIELD OFFICE TO PROVIDE DOCUMENTATION WITH EVIDENCE WHICH I GAVE IN HAND TO THE SENIOR INVESTIGATOR BROUGHTON O´KEEFE ...WHO ACKNOWLEDGED ME ABOUT SEVERAL “FINDINGS”...AFTER THOSE WASTED AND UNBEAREABLE YEARS,THE BOARD FINNALY ALLEGED A..“COMPETENT CARE FROM NURSES” ..WITHIN THE STANDARDS OF CARE UNDER CALIFORNIA LAW (JUST A UNBELIEVABLE AND UNTRUTHFUL STEP PHRASE)
MRS RUTH ANN TERRY,AS RESPONSIBLE OF THE REGISTERED NURSING BOARD,IS RESPONSIBLE OF THAT “UNTRUTHFULL WORK OF ART” PERFORMED TO PROTECT (PEERS) WRONGDOERS. SHOULD I HAVE TO CONSIDER THE THOROUGH INVESTIGATION OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE (AN OFFICIAL VOICE) AND THE SERIOUS REPORTS OF 4 RENOWNED EXPERTS AS FALSE,UNTRUTHFUL OR USELESS?? ...SHOULD I HAVE TO CONSIDER THE EXISTING TRUE FACTS OF REALITY AS INEXISTENT BECAUSE MRS TERRY ORDERED TO IGNORE SAID EVIDENCE TO HIDE AND PROTECT DANGEROUS NURSES ? ALLOW ME TO RESPOND: OF COURSE NOT !.IF THE DATABASE OF SAID BOARD DOESN´T REFLECT REAL BACKGROUNDS,THE BOARD COMMITS ,IN MY HUMBLE OPINION,A GROSS FAILURE (WHY NOT A FELONY?) MISLEADING CITIZENS “THE SILENT MAJORITY” SAID BEHAVIOUR DESERVES AND MUST HAVE A STRONG DISCIPLINARIAN ACTION (TAKE NOTE MRS LEGISLATORS AND POLITICIANS )AGAINST THE RESPONSIBLES.I READ THAT YOU RESIGNED MRS TERRY. WITH THE ALL DUE RESPECT,I´M SURE YOU DID THE CORRECT PATH. SO CONGRATULATIONS…,
BY THE WAY ,HERE GOES MY PETITION TO MR GOVERNOR ARNOLD SCHWARZENNEGER,PLEASE SIR,I´M SURE YOU ARE TERRIBLY BUSY BUT,PLEASE FORGIVE ME FOR MY DARING : MAY YOU HAVE THE KINDNESS TO ORDER TO WHOM IT MAY CORRESPOND A FULL AND TRUTHFUL REDOING- IN THE SHORTEST TIME AS POSSIBLE -OF THE WHOLE INVESTIGATION CONCERNING VERONICA´S KILLING ? PLEASE,SIR .MY DAUGHTER DESERVES AND HAS BEEN WAITING FOR VERY LONG WHILE ,ASKING FOR ANYTHING ELSE THAN A LITTLE BEAT OF JUSTICE,AND AT THE SAME TIME A DISCIPLINARIAN ACTION 8UNAVOIDABLE ON THIS CASE)SHOULD BE USEFUL TO WARN AND PREVENT POTENTIAL WRONGDOERS AND A STRONG EXEMPLARY ACTION WELCOME FOR THOUSANDS OF HURTED PEOPLE,YOUR PEOPLE.MY GRANDDAUGHTER INDIANA IS ONE AMONG THEM AND SHE LIVES IN LA.A BEAUTIFUL AMERICAN GIRL WHO ENJOYED HER MOTHER FOR ONLY TWO HOURS.INDIANA WAS ONLY TWELVE HOURS OLD. .I REMAIN EXPECTANT AND AT YOUR ENTIRE DISPOSITION IF NEEDED.
MY FAMILY AND I , APPRECIATED.
ROBERTO ALEJANDRO GLAUBACH,A FATHER

From KCAPRN July 15, 2009 8:37 pm EST

What a sad and disheartening story. Clearly the CBRN has not been protecting the public. While I commend your work and the response your story engendered, I have some concerns. I am a Nurse Practitioner and nursing instructor. I hold my profession to the highest ethical and competency standards which I intend to pass on to my students. Nursing is a difficult profession and most practicing nurses struggle to advocate, care for, and protect their patients’ well being. It makes me sad to think that our California nurses will now have to labor under the added pressure of a distrusting public. I can only imagine the number of potential nurses who will rethink their decision to join our profession. I would hope you will write another story. One that shows the work of an RN and the positive difference a good nurse makes in the lives of his or her patients.

From ROBERTO ALEJANDRO GLAUBACH July 17, 2009 12:13 am EST

Dear KCAPRN:
Unfortunatelly I have not another story to tell.This is my unique story and as you can imagine I certainly would preferred another more,lighter and with a happy end different than this one.Never this one. But,my family and I,we have the disgrace to bear and carry on with this heavy weight for the rest of our lives.That simple.But,..we know,of course,that there are good nurses indeed. Women and even men who are delicate human beings,skilled,responsibles,compassionate and merciful with patients as well as there is another category of: incompetent,unskilled,ignorant awful and ugly individuals.I don´t like to generalize.It is not a good way to analize any issue or any matter.Unfortunatelly,in Vero´s story ,events and things had been quite bad,wrong.She had had the bad luck of being attended by the second category I´ve described ..and additionally by two or three much more unskilled and incompetent doctors.Let´s see ,in short,some details of happenings.When she was admitted at the Huntington Memorial Hospital,in Pasadena,she was already suffering of a mild preclampsia.Prenatal records are clear about that.A lot of clear warnings concerning IUGR and PTL are posted on it.Proteinuria +2. The ecosound report of Gregory Devore was showing twinkling spots in the placenta,other symptoms as swelling,she saw spotlights,and other unavoidable( to a good nurse or doctor) symptoms of said mild preclampsia .At this point you can agree that she was deserving a care as a “high risk patient”.Nobody take care not even took a look over the records.(Specially the admittance nurse) Admitted 12pm,delivered a girls,my grandaughter Indi at 6am,june 30,2002 via vaginal.High blood pressure during delivery and after.Five hours after delivery,started with a unbeareable upper-abdominal pain,insoportable pain.It was sunday.veronica´s mother asked,suplicated for an emergency doctor,a doctor nobody attender her shouts.Nobody did anything.veronica was crying and vomiting.Nurses on charge respoonded: we can manage this,meanwhile they tried to page Dr Rodriguez.Impossible to be reached for two 2golden hours” A badmannered nurse apparently upset or discusted for having to clean vero´s vomit.2 pm,Rodriguez ordered( by phone) Tylenol and mylanta telling to the nurses that the pain was normal,a post-partum pain (upperabdominal) Ridiculous diagnosis to any expert consulted,even a renowned Nursing Ph Dr master of nurses. He ordered Tylenol and mylanta.meanwhile Veronica was loosing her platelets.Nobody was acknowledged of what was occuring. What is the adjective to be used for this managing ??: Ignorants,no other.i´m sure you agree with me. 4pm,another physician Dr Li came and overviewed in a slightly basis Vero,and ordered lab tests and a “liquid diet”,..YES you are not dreaming,it´s not a nightmare, I repit..LIQUID DIET,meanwhile she was very close to die.Even that,still at that point a strong accurate management could save her. Experts dixit..Lab tests were terrible.Almost with no platelets. She was going straight to death and even at that point,with that awful scenario ,not even a simply blood trasfussion (fresh platelets)has been ordered.Therafter she seized and bleeded .Brain death.end of story.Every expert consulted felt perplex facing such a medical ignorance and negligence.Thereafter another etails…Dou you want??. Hospital representative Dr Gurevitch responded to my question: “Why you did not tranfussed fresh platelets to my daughter…well Sir,your daughter blood was quite rare (she was Rh+)..(¿?) Probably that intelligent man thought that was talking to an ignorant or dumb person.I´m not.So I runned to the Med.Records office.have to fight there to get a full copy.Late,very late. A lot of pages missing,false entries,not signed entries,falsified bp takes,,intelligible entries and another “candies”. It took me hours to reconstruct some big flowsheets.It takes me years to obtaina little beat of justice and I won´t give up untill the true arise and every one of said wrongdoers,nurses and doctors,be accurately disciplinated,despite all these years facing the malfeasance,misfeasance and nonfeasance of RN Board and MedBoard of Cal on this case (which I´m sure is one more amid thousands.They owe a little of justice to my poor daughter.I owe her to give some sense to her avoidable death,helping perhaps another harmed people “the silent majority” We(my family and I) are morally offended for the spurious and unacceptable
management carried on by these agencies and their officials.That killed my daughter twice.You don´t want to be on my shoes my dear.Perhaps you are a loving mother,Yes ? well honey ,you should understand (and I´m sure you do) that I am a loving father.
Yours truly
Roberto Alejandro Glaubach Veronica´s father

From ROBERTO ALEJANDRO GLAUBACH July 20, 2009 5:55 pm EST

Mr Charles Ornstein and staff.
Your report made big waves that for sure will arise big changes indeed. The “silent-hurted- majotity” is right now applauding you effort to lift that awful and heavy black curtain which is (or was ?) veiling the true facts that conducted health care in California to the existing mess. It seems that the river sound announces water and,new refreshing air,because,paraphrasing Shakespeare,..something smells nasty in californian boards.Could be widely interesting and a good culmination of your “periodistic work of art” if you take an investigative look over the Medical Board of California. Perhaps you will get surprising findings. Let´s see how does the authorities of said Board accomplish its duties emerging from the 2005 Final Report of the Enforcement Program Monitor Project,suscribed by Julianne Felmeth and Tomas Papageorge.I am aware that perhaps,we are facing simply cosmetical changes. Perhaps now,as a direct consequence of your report,Veronica´s case and many other cases could be revised by the new authorities in order to establish the due responsibilities of involved wrongdoers. Thank you again.

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This investigation was co-published with the Los Angeles Times and also appeared in that newspaper throughout 2008 and 2009.

7/14/2009: Nursing Board Executive Officer Resigns
7/13/2009: California Gov. Schwarzenegger Replaces Most of Nursing Board

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Spencer Sullivan - In the prime of his life, Spencer Sullivan was rendered a quadriplegic. It took the nursing board more than six years later to revoke the license of a nurse involved in his care. Read more | LA Times Audio Slideshow
Caitlin Greenwell - Caitlin Greenwell's family alleges that she suffers from cerberal palsy because nurses neglected to monitor her during her birth. LA Times Audio Slideshow
Dr. Iraj Zandi – During a surgery, Dr. Iraj Zandi discovered that a nurse had stolen painkiller drugs intended for his patient. He found out later that the nurse had been accused of pilfering drugs from a previous employer. Read more...
Veronica Glaubach – Veronica Glaubach’s nurses missed crucial signs of a life-threatening complication during and after childbirth, her family alleged. She died. The nursing board absolved the nurses. Read more...