Parent questions why she wasn’t invited to media press conference

Marisa Cruz

Following the deaths of the newborns, K.H.M.H. authorities held only one group meeting with the parents involved. That meeting was held an hour before the press conference on May thirtieth. At the end, both Stephen Panton and Marisa Cruz were left with the impression that the session was not really about getting to the real answers. In fact Cruz, whose baby died on April first, more than six weeks before there was any public knowledge of a bacteria outbreak, says she was asked not to be present at the press conference.

Marisa Cruz, Newborn Died April 1^st

“When I asked them if they knew about the bacteria in the hospital, one of them told me that they were not aware. But I told them yes there were a few doctors that were aware about this bacteria when my child died. Because when she died, a week after, one of the mothers told me that they knew how my child died; it was because of a bacteria…that the specialist told her that there was an infection in the NICU. So when I told the Board of Directors that information, I asked them who should be held accountable. They said, they were not aware who. I told them to me, it is both of them as doctors and directors. The doctors, because they knew that there was a bacteria in there and they could have come forward to the directors to let them know to do something about it. And the directors as well because since March babies were dying before mine. And if they were aware of this, they should have done something as well. Well they should have come down the doctors and ask them what was going on down there…but no one did anything.”

Stephen Panton, Newborn Died May 5^th

Stephen Panton

“I’m still not sure of the motive behind the meeting before the press conference. I remember the day of the press conference, I got a call at one-twenty asking if I will be able to make it to a meeting one-thirty because they were going to have a press conference. I didn’t make it one-thirty, but I still made it there. Basically in the meeting they asked us a lot of questions. They said that they wanted to hear from us what was happening because they were not present there. After we told them what had happened, basically it just seemed to me that they wanted to know how to present themselves at the press conference.”

Marisa Cruz

“At the end of the meeting when the media came in, Sheena Garnett was actually telling me that it is best that I don’t stay for the press conference because I can put the whole thing in jeopardy.”