BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — The Medical Board of California has chosen to hold its quarterly board meeting, scheduled for August 24-25, in Bakersfield for the first time. Holding the quarterly meeting here allows the board to hear from the community directly while also addressing concerns over maternal mortality rates and medical negligence in Kern County.
While the families who attended Thursday's meeting agreed that conversations are key to seeing true change, they want to see the change happen at the legal level. That's why they've been working together to create California Senate Bill 815, which is aimed at addressing various aspects of medical negligence.
"You submit a complaint, it mysteriously gets reviewed and investigated, and nothing ever happens," said patient advocate and family member Alka Airy. "You may or may not get a closure letter and that's the end of it, and there is no dialogue. So I think this is an important first step in terms of establishing that dialogue."
Airy is one of the many people who tragically lost a family member due to alleged medical negligence. She says her sister was denied proper medical attention at not one but two different hospitals.
"At the age of 43, she went into the hospital for a stomachache which turned out to be an intestinal infection, but that wasn't caught," said Airy.
According to Airy, when she connected with other families who have gone through the same as hers, she was shocked to hear how common the issue of medical negligence is. Through the work of Consumer Watchdog, Airy and other families have advocated for the creation of SB815 to tackle issues of medical negligence and give patients a better hospital experience.
Patient Advocate for Consumer Watchdog Michele Monserratt-Ramos says SB815 will require final interviews before a complaint is dismissed, for those affected to submit a patient impact statement, and having a third party also review the actions of doctors instead of just other doctors.
"I want them to get to the point where they see the public, they see the families as stakeholders too. 'Cause we're as much stakeholders as everyone else because we're the ones losing our families," said Monserratt-Ramos.
Monserratt-Ramos says SB815 is currently in the California Legislature and scheduled to be voted on next week in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. If the bill passes the committee vote, it will be sent to the Assembly for a full vote.
Airy says she feels oftentimes doctors forget the impacts they have when treating patients, adding that SB815 will not only improve the quality of service for patients everywhere but will also work to eliminate the stigma of treating all patients the same.
"There's so much vested in the delivery of health care, and I think a lot of doctors make the mistake to treat patients like numbers, and so I think it's important to have those conversations," said Airy.
Thursday's meeting was the first day of a two-day event. Friday's meeting, which will start at 9:00 am at the DoubleTree Hotel in Bakersfield, will focus solely on maternal mortality issues in the Central Valley.
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