Patient given Ivermectin at Fauquier Health after Virginia judge holds hospital in contempt
Lawyer for Kathleen Davies said she was on ventilator too long
After being held in contempt of court, a Virginia hospital is complying with the judge's order to allow a dying COVID patient to take Ivermectin. A spokeswoman for Fauquier Health Hospital says the facility did its best to allow the patient to exert her legal right to try. But the lawyer for the patient, Kathleen Davies, says the hospital is not telling the truth and it’s too late.
To get caught up on this case, read my first story on the case here: BREAKING: Virginia judge orders hospital to give ivermectin to dying patient or pay $10,000 a day
According to lawyer Beth Parlato, Davies has been receiving ivermectin at the hospital since 8:46 p.m. on Monday night — just 15 minutes before the court’s deadline. Circuit Court Judge James Fisher issued his order at 6 p.m. and wrote that the hospital could have the contempt order removed and avoid the $10,000 a day penalty if the medication was given by 9 p.m.
The Davies’s personal physician, Dr. Martha Maturi, drove an hour and a half to administer the medication Monday night, according to Parlato. But the hospital had its own ICU nurse administer the ivermectin in the end. The Judge purged the contempt of court order the next day.
Unfortunately, Davies has not improved.
“She’s not doing well,” said Parlato. “As her son has stated, it was a Hail Mary due to the fact she was on a ventilator for 42 days. The problem is the longer on the vent, so much damage is already done.”
Fauquier Health said the delay in allowing Davies to get ivermectin was due to allowing a private physician to prescribe the medication and administer it without hospital privileges.
This same red tape of outside doctors happened in another Parlato case in Texas. Deputy Sheriff Jason Jones was denied ivermectin at Texas Health Huguley Hospital, which first claimed his private physician Dr. Mary Bowden didn’t have the privileges to do it. Read about that hospital legal battle in my story here:
Fauquier Health sent me a lengthy statement and asked I update readers that the judge withdrew the contempt order. I attached the whole statement at the bottom and putting excerpts here:
We would like to correct the misinformation regarding the family who disagreed with the clinical course of treatment recommended by our physicians for their family member. As outlined in the court documents, a patient’s family filed a petition seeking to compel our hospital to administer medication prescribed by an outside physician. This physician had no privileges to practice medicine at our hospital.
Like other hospitals, Fauquier Health is unable to administer medications to our patients without a valid order from a physician on our medical staff. Doing so would violate standard hospital practice and Virginia law. That said, our team has worked around the clock to cooperate with the patient’s family and the Court to identify potential viable solutions, including to make a reasonable attempt to transfer the patient’s care to their preferred physician, which has since happened.
Despite what has been shared online, we believe that we have navigated these complexities as swiftly as possible and have remained in compliance with standard hospital practice, including federal and state regulations, throughout this matter. In fact, we proactively took steps above and beyond the family’s requests, the suggestions of their legal counsel, and the court’s order to make the desired accommodations.
Because of our responsiveness throughout this time, the court has purged the previous Contempt Order.
“It simply isn’t true that the hospital made any reasonable attempts to comply,” lawyer Beth Parlato told me. “In fact, the Judge absolutely, positively, did not agree that the hospital made reasonable efforts, which is why he held them in contempt.”
The Davises’ lawyer pointed out that the Judge outlined in his contempt order all the ways the hospital didn’t comply, which mostly was due to the hospital doctors refusing to come up with a team approach with a private doctor. (Read the judge’s contempt order for the details here.)
Also, the judge did not purge the contempt order because of the hospital’s “responsiveness throughout this time” but because the hospital finally allowed Davies to try ivermectin.
Dr. Bowden said that, “Early treatment - ideally before day 8 is critical. Dr Varon, the critical care doctor at UMMC, told me he has never had someone in the ICU with COVID who received early treatment.”
Dr. Joseph Varon is the is the Chief of Critical Care at United Memorial Medical Center in Houston.
While the hospital is focused on its PR problems from “online sources” (that’s me), the bigger issue is