Kaiser Permanente Looks for Doctors Who Will Kill You
by Mary Starrett
Giant HMO Kaiser Permanente is looking for a few good doctors who aren't
worried about that line in the Hippocratic Oath that says: "First do no harm."
An email was recently sent out to over 800 M.D.'s in Oregon (where 'voter
approved' physician-assisted suicide is A-OK) asking doctors willing to help patients end
it all, to, by all means, be in touch.
When I heard about this gruesome cyber-request I couldn't help wonder what
Joyce Brown thought of this. Joyce is a Kelso, Washington R.N. who was convicted of
manslaughter because she helped a terminally ill cancer patient with an alternative
treatment after his doctors had sent him home to die. Manslaughter - as in
evidence-gathering, cops tossing stuff around in her house seizing computers and files.
Manslaughter- as in handcuffs,
arrest and jail. Manslaughter - as in some guy comes begging a nurse to administer an IV
mineral solution as one last hope to stay alive, dies in the process and for that the
nurse does the perp walk. That kind of manslaughter. While the good folks at Kaiser send
out a mass emailing asking for docs who'd like to kill to RSVP. I tell ya.
This is one of those stories that leaves you with a sick feeling. After
reading it you'll realize that:
a) the medical/ pharmaceutical cartel has decided FOR you what therapies
you may and may not utilize for your health care,
b) that the justice system is working with it in tandem to create a
monopoly in which you have little say, and
c) the media can distort and contort the truth with impunity.
In August, 2000 a Louisiana man named Edward Steward was told his stomach,
colon and liver cancer had gotten the best of him and despite all the "best"
cancer therapies he was doomed. He'd tried all the "government- approved" cancer
treatments and had spent an enormous sum all to no avail. He'd heard about a product
called MICOM (a natural, mineral solution which, though not claiming to be a
"cure" was considered a "treatment" for those with serious illness.)
Knowing he had but weeks to live, Steward figured he had nothing to lose, so he set out to
find someone who'd administer MICOM intravenously. (MICOM was thought to work by raising
the oxygen levels of the blood and lymphatic systems. Some researchers believe that
certain cancers grow and spread because of low oxygen levels.)
Edward Steward searched the country and found Joyce Brown willing to help
him go the MICOM route since all other conventional treatments had failed. The MICOM
formula was not FDA approved (as if that means anything
anymore), but was undergoing preliminary trials.
Brown, a woman who eschewed the security and good pay that in-demand
R.N.'s command these days, had devoted herself to helping people with natural approaches
to health, including good nutrition and daily exercise. A committed Christian, Joyce tried
to incorporate spiritual principles in her approach to physical health.
Along came a desperate, dying man who asked her assistance in this
last-ditch effort to stay alive a little longer and Joyce agreed. (Contrast her
desire to help keep this man alive with those docs being recruited by Kaiser to KILL
terminally ill people.)
Joyce took this man and his common-law wife into her home and gave him
round-the clock care. Charging a mere pittance, she began the MICOM IV she and Steward had
hoped would help his body fight for just a little while longer. Hours into the treatment
Steward died. From that moment on Joyce Brown's life has never been the same. Media
accounts painted this woman as an angel of death. Her legal bills totaled $100,000. She
was made to endure a trial where she was convicted of manslaughter and jailed. And to add
insult to injury Steward's common-law wife SUED her for $5 million in a wrongful death
suit! Under the category: No good deed goes unpunished. Joyce went to jail (not prison).
Now that she's out she can't practice medicine or anything related to healthcare. She's
broke and jobless and still facing a mountain of legal bills. From what I've been able to
dig up, her lawyer was a joke and she was railroaded BIG time. Law enforcement treated
Brown's case as a major drug bust. The D.A. in charge took on no other drug cases during
the trial because this was seen as such a huge win in the war on drugs. Can't you just
hear the banter down at the cop shop on this case?
"Yup, fellas, Cowlitz County's a safer place since we busted the
nurse with the illegal minerals imagine her trying to keep some guy ALIVE! We showed her
and anyone else who thinks they have a choice when it comes to their own health care- we
will have the ultimate control". Brown's circus of a trial was replete with all kinds
of attractions; a NY doctor who charged $5,000 as an "expert witness" to come
and tell the jury "the MICOM killed Edward Steward". ( This doc had a reputation
for being "offended" by any kind of "alternative" health treatment.)
Joyce had to re-imburse the state for that expense. The original 4 hour autopsy proved
inconclusive as to cause of death. Deputy prosecutor Helko Coppola said of the
manslaughter verdict: " this sends the appropriate message that those who engage in
the practice of alternative healing and harm someone will be held accountable for their
acts".
As for Joyce Brown, she says she'd do it all over again. "After
all", she points out, " I don't remember Jesus ever turning anyone away".
ACTION: Kaiser heath plan members can contact their local offices by
finding your location at
http://www.kaiserpermanente.org/members/contact.html.
Others can can send comments to
Kaiser Permanente
25 N Via Monte
Walnut Creek, CA 94598-2510
(925) 926-5781
fax: (925) 926-3750
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