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HOUSTON----Andrea Clark's treatment team at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital met Tuesday to further discuss the 54-year-old woman's condition and treatment plan.
Dr. Matthew Lenz, a physician with privileges at St. Luke's and who became involved in the heart patient's case at the request of Texas Right to Life, officially became Andrea's primary physician on Tuesday. According to a Texas Right to Life spokesman, Dr. Lenz has taken a personal interest in protecting Andrea's life with a goal to nurse her back to a point where she can then be transferred to another facility for further rehabilitation.
On Wednesday, she will undergo surgery for the removal of a septic gall bladder. While this surgery does pose risks to her fragile condition, Dr. Lenz says the removal of the diseased organ should lend to her overall improvement.
According to Dr. Lenz and Texas Right to Life, St. Luke's has now offered the full support of the administration and other specialists to assist Dr. Lenz in caring for Andrea. Reportedly the hospital has confirmed that the futility statute will not be invoked again in Andrea's case while she is in Dr. Lenz's care.
The futility proceedings had been halted Monday with the entry of Dr. Lenz into the case and continued improvement by Andrea. http://www.northcountrygazette.org/articles/050106RoadToRecovery.html
On April 19, the hospital's ethic's committee gave Andrea's family 10 days to find another facility or physician to treat her and decreed that at the end of the 10 days, on Sunday, April 30, under the Texas Futile Care Law signed into effect in 1999 by then Texas Gov. George W. Bush, the woman's life support would be removed because in their view, it was medically futile to keep Andrea alive.
Under Chapter 166 of the Texas Health and Safety Code, if an attending physician disagrees with a surrogate over a life-and-death treatment decision, there must be an ethics committee consultation (with notice to the surrogate and an opportunity to participate). In a futility case such as Andrea's in which the treatment team is seeking to stop treatment deemed to be non-beneficial, if the ethics committee agrees with the team, the hospital will be authorized to discontinue the disputed treatment (after a 10-day delay, during which the hospital must help try to find a facility that will accept a transfer of the patient).
She had undergone heart surgery in November and had incurred complications which required her to receive kidney dialysis and a respirator.
Andrea was born a "blue baby" and has combated medical issues her entire life but has led a full life. She is a widow and has a 23-year-old son. According to her family, Andrea has expressed a clear desire and strong will to live.
Andrea's previous attending physician, Dr. Ronald Giveon, made the decision to remove Andrea from life support and then left for vacation. His decision was supported by the hospital's ethics committee and the respirator and dialysis keeping Andrea alive were scheduled to be removed from Andrea on Sunday, April 30.
After plans to transfer Andrea to a facility in Chicago fell apart on Friday, the hospital reportedly agreed not to remove the ventilator and discontinue dialysis of Andrea until at least Tuesday while the search continued for a facility where she could be transferred.
A cease and desist letter was served on the hospital Monday by Jerri Lynn Ward, attorney for Andrea and her family, to stop the hospital from removing life support from Andrea until the attorney could ask a Houston court for an injunction against the hospital, stopping them from ending Andrea's life.
5-2-06
© 2006 North
Country Gazette
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