A wakeup call from the nanny state

Amber alert alert

Amber alert alert

My cellphone was off Friday night so I was lucky enough to miss the Amber Alert that was sent out at 1:45 am when a mom decided to drive home from Pennsylvania to have her son treated at Boston Children’s Hospital. I heard about it Saturday night from some friends who couldn’t believe this had occurred and were annoyed at being awoken.  From where I sit, the only good thing about it is that it’s literally a wake-up call to the whole community about how the system treats vulnerable people.

It’s hard to say exactly what happened. But from what’s been written, it goes something like this:

• A nurse practitioner in Wilkes-Barre, PA told a mom to take her 2-month old to a nearby emergency room for treatment of severe dehydration
• Mom felt she had gotten “the runaround” from the Pennsylvania clinic and decided to drive to Boston Children’s Hospital to have her son treated there. She is from Boston and apparently has a relationship with a doctor there
• On the way back she dropped off her older son with a niece in Waltham so she could focus on the infant
• Somewhere along the way, someone in PA decided to issue an Amber Alert –meant to be used when a child is abducted and “believed to be in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury”
• The Amber Alert went out, waking everyone up
• Infant made it to Children’s, where he’s been admitted and is improving –but now in custody of DCF (protective services)
• Other child was also taken by DCF
• Mom was arrested in MA as a fugitive from justice in PA. Judge listened to her story and released her on a token $250 bail

As I mentioned I don’t know exactly what happened. But I tend to give the mom the benefit of the doubt. In particular:

• Who knows the quality of care and clarity of instructions the woman received at the clinic in PA?
• A general ED is no place for a 2-month old. Many are still totally unprepared for kids, never mind babies
• Boston Children’s is rated the #1 pediatric hospital in the country and she may have relationships there already. Depending on the kid’s condition, who wouldn’t at least consider making the drive?
• It’s hard to drag a toddler all over the place during an emergency, so why not drop them off at a relative’s house along the way?

The mom apparently has some moving violations and a charge for prostitution. I wouldn’t be too quick to judge her for those things.

It’s hard to know what to do when your kid is sick and you’re trying to navigate the healthcare system. That’s true even for a well resourced, well educated dad like me who works in healthcare. Without those privileges it appears all too easy to end up with Amber Alerts, arrested moms, and kids taken by the state when a mom tries to do what’s best.

I don’t like it.

Image courtesy of mrpuen at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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By healthcare business consultant David E. Williams, president of Health Business Group.