Tirhas Habtegiris Case: Media Statement

Contact: Wendy Walker, 214-820-4581
Email: wendyw@baylorhealth.edu

News media coverage has misstated the facts and drawn incorrect conclusions regarding the case of Tirhas Habtegiris, a former patient at Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano. We have no negative feelings toward those family members of Ms. Habtegiris who called on the media and made statements critical of our actions. We know that her family did not agree with the treatment team and ethics committee about the most appropriate way to face her terrible suffering from terminal cancer. We, too, are saddened by the death of one so young. We understand that Ms. Habtegiris's family was in a stage of acute grief when they spoke with members of the press and we also know that grief may alter one's perception of reality. Perhaps members of the press were not aware of how grief may affect the very words a person may use and the grieving party may not have heard accurately their own words or those of others. These are but some of the reasons for us to set the record straight.

News media statements that Ms. Habtegiris "was removed from her ventilator last month because she couldn't pay her medical bills," that "she was fully conscious and responsive," and that she "suffocated" for "16 minutes" are false, as are other allegations that have now become part of the public record.

This statement and the links herein are intended to set the record straight that physicians at Baylor, supported by state law and an ethics committee provided compassionate care to Ms. Habtegiris until her final breath and that they ultimately withdrew treatment because it was the only humane, ethical option. It was the unwavering intent of all of the health care providers at Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano to provide compassionate care to Ms. Habtegiris at all times, allowing her to pass away without pain and with peace and dignity.

Until now, Baylor was unable to provide detailed information about this case because of legal constraints on the release of medical information under HIPPA and state law. We have now been released from those constraints by court order, and we believe the following information from the medical record must be disclosed to respond adequately to questions about the case and to correct the incorrect, misleading and inflammatory statements in the public record.

We regret that we have been forced into this situation. Baylor respects, and is committed to protecting patient privacy. Consequently, although we have been legally released from these privacy restrictions, we are withholding certain personal information out of respect for the privacy of Ms. Habtegiris and her grieving relatives. And we again extend our most sincere condolences to Ms. Habtegiris's family.

Case Details
In the case of Tirhas Habtegiris, treating physicians at Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano concluded after several weeks of intensive care that due to her severe terminal illness - incurable, widely spread metastatic angiosarcoma from her abdomen to her lungs - the only compassionate course of action was to not prolong suffering and to allow her to die as peacefully and gently as possible. The decision that Ms. Habtegiris's condition was incurable was also shared by physicians at a non-Baylor hospital where her family sought treatment prior to bringing her to Baylor Plano. A detailed case history is available on Ms. Habtegiris's condition.

Weeks were spent helping Ms. Habtegiris' family understand this unfortunate reality. Social, legal and other assistance was offered to the family to help in their decision-making process regarding her continued care and with their comfort level in accepting her terminal condition.

Ethics Committee Supports Baylor
Tirhas Habtegiris's treating physicians also sought review of their conclusion regarding her condition and what they felt was the most medically appropriate and humane course of action for her. They consulted a multidisciplinary ethics committee - a standard step in many end-of-life cases - comprised of Baylor colleagues. The ethics committee's work was further reviewed by the Director of the Office of Clinical Ethics for Baylor Health Care System, a nationally recognized expert in clinical ethics and end-of-life care. The ethics committee supported the treating physicians' decision that they should withdraw life-sustaining treatment despite the objection of Ms. Habtegiris's family. The ethics committee and the treating physicians were following a process clearly delineated by Texas law.

Same Care for All
Baylor hospitals provide millions of dollars of unfunded medical care, including critical care in the ICU, when the treatment is beneficial rather than harmful to the patient. In this case, treatment was harmful and only prolonged the dying process caused by the untreatable terminal illness from which Ms. Habtegiris suffered. Physicians would have pursued the same course of action in a fully insured patient because they believe it is fundamentally unethical to provide non-beneficial and/or harmful treatment to patients, especially when death is inevitable from a terminal illness. This is true even if the family is demanding that such treatment be provided.

From the point of view of the health care professionals involved, a decision to allow death to come naturally was based upon a compassionate approach to Ms. Habtegiris's terminal clinical condition, suffering, and inevitable death.

It is unfortunate and misleading, in some ways, that Tirhas Habtegiris's death at such a young age from terminal cancer has been pulled into the controversial public debate over end-of-life and health coverage issues. As mentioned by several of the reporters who have made incorrect statements regarding this case, there is a health insurance problem in the U.S. and in Texas in particular, where one in four people lacks either public or private insurance.

However, Tirhas Habtegiris's death was not due to any financial reason.

Baylor response
Because cases like Ms. Habtegiris's can be complex and charged with emotion, Baylor offers herein a full, detailed response to the questions and inaccurate statements about her case that have found their way into the public domain.

To help educate the public and members of the media on the issue of ethics and end-of-life care, Baylor also offers supporting resources.

Finally, to assist journalists and policy makers in understanding end-of-life issues, Baylor offers a special Webinar on The Ethics of End-of-Life Care.