Vanderbilt Burn Center (Nashville) refused to provide the young patient sufficient pain medication for SIX WEEKS
A Davidson County Court in Nashville Tennessee ruled in favor of a family whose minor child was denied proper treatment in January 2020. The ten-year-old victim had suffered severe burns in a tragic mishap. Staff at Vanderbilt Burn Center refused to provide the young patient sufficient pain medication while performing a procedure that requires cleaning and dressing burn wounds.
At the time of treatment, Bob Sheerin, a Chronic/Intractable Pain Advocate and Vice President of Operations with the American Pain and Disability Foundation, was himself receiving burn treatment in an adjoining room. He heard the agonizing screams of the victim and was compelled to help.
Sheerin, 52, Hopkinsville, Kentucky, stepped in to assist the 10-year-old patient at the burn unit of Vanderbilt Medical Center, Nashville. Sheerin was responsible for obtaining an attorney and securing funds to help the minor child and her mother navigate a system that is rigged against the poor and the uninsured.
“I have accomplished a lot advocating; not more than others, just my fair share.” said, Sheerin outside of the Tennessee courthouse. “This is something any of our great Chronic/Intractable pain advocates would have taken on.”
Mr. Sheerin has been advocating for chronic pain patients for nearly a decade and says this is his greatest accomplishment.
The family was awarded a settlement in court and money paid to the attorney was donated back to the family to establish a college fund.
Mr. Sheerin goes on to say, ”People in this country need to start opening their eyes to what the government is doing to people in need of life-saving pain medications. The way we can help children in the future is to get rid of this false narrative put forth by the CDC 2016 guidelines.”
HENRY TAYLOR/THE LEAF-CHRONICLE
Bob Sheerin VP
Filed under: General Problems
[…] Vanderbilt Burn Center (Nashville) refused to provide the young patient sufficient pain medication f… […]
I called Vanderbilt yesterday and asked them straight up what is the deal. The lady I talked to told me what normal procedure is and that they are getting a new medical director ( I cant imagine why) and that I would be able to interview the director about policy going forward. I also have calls out to several burn centers to interview them about how they are handling the situation given our current regulatory environment. I had this fear in the back of my mind since 2016 , literally praying I would not find out burn patients were being scrubbed without meds. Now that this has come out, I cannot and will not let it go.
Back in 1996, my daughter suffered a burn after trying to take the lid off of her hot chocolate. I had just told her to hold the cup (it was insulated and rigid, so her hands were not hot), and while I was getting settled, she removed the lid and it burned her finger. She started screaming, a scream that still haunts me to this very day. I yanked her out of the car only to see what had happened. I literally shoved her back in and took off for the Urgent Care. I got there in 5 minutes flat, yanked her out of the still- running vehicle and started screaming for help before we were even inside. The nurse ran out, took my still- screaming child, and they started working on her. She did get to come home that night, with her butt cheek burnt. They medicated her heavily and made sure she had enough Demerol to ease her suffering until the debridements were done. We were definitely blessed back then. Nowadays, they would accuse me of drug- seeking through my daughter.
As a side note, I do feel so guilty about what happened to my daughter. I should have known better.