Doctor dies of coronavirus after saying the hospital was mistreating her because she is black

An Indiana doctor died of complications from the new coronavirus (COVID-19) weeks after saying he was being abused.

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Dr. Susan Moore, who was admitted to Indiana University North Hospital, said she was not receiving adequate treatment in a Facebook video on December 4 that has since gone viral.

Moore said that despite telling the doctor that she was in pain, the medical staff who treated her wanted to be discharged. She said she only received the medication after tests proved what she was saying since arriving at the hospital.

“I propose, and I maintain, if I were white, I wouldn’t have to go through it,” said Moore in his video after explaining that his doctor only agreed to give him painkillers after a CT scan revealed new lung infiltrates. “And that man never came back and apologized,” she added of the doctor.

“I don’t trust this hospital and I’m asking to be transferred. These people wanted to send me home with new lung infiltrates and all kinds of lymphadenopathy in the neck,” said Moore, adding later in the video: “This is how black people are killed. When you send them home and they don’t know how to fight for themselves. I have to talk to someone, maybe the media, someone, so that people know how I’m being treated in this place, put it on. “

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In an update, Moore later shared on Facebook that he had spoken to the medical director of the UI health system and that his pain was finally being “properly managed”. She said the CMO “said there will be some diversity training” and that they were “working to” get an apology from their doctor.

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Susan Moore

Moore was discharged and said he was at home in his own bed, before sharing another update that he had been admitted to a new hospital.

“I was at home less than 12 hours,” wrote Moore on Facebook. “The temperature reached 103 and my blood pressure dropped to 80/60 with a heart rate of 132. I’m back at the hospital, a different hospital in Saint Vincent Carmel.”

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“These people were trying to kill me,” she added. “Clearly, everyone agrees that they dismiss me very early. They are now treating me for bacterial pneumonia, as well as for Covid’s pneumonia. I am receiving very compassionate care. They are offering me pain medication.”

Moore’s final update before her death said she was being transferred to the ICU and was on a BiPAP machine to help her breathe.

“IU North respects and defends patient privacy and cannot comment on a specific patient, his medical history or conditions,” an IU spokesman said in a statement when contacted by People for comment on Wednesday. “As an organization committed to equity and the reduction of racial disparities in health, we take allegations of discrimination very seriously and investigate all allegations.”

“Treatment options are often agreed and reviewed by medical specialists from a variety of specialties, and we uphold the commitment and experience of our caregivers and the quality of care provided to our patients every day,” added the statement.

A GoFundMe campaign was set up for the Moore family to pay for the funeral and expenses of their 19-year-old son and elderly parents.

“Dr. Susan Moore, a doctor who lives in Indianapolis, died prematurely,” said the GoFundMe campaign. “She has fought COVID for the past few weeks. She left a 19-year-old son and his parents, both with dementia. The son is dealing with both situations at the moment and is in a good mood.”

“Susan was a phenomenal doctor,” added the campaign. “She loved to practice medicine, loved being a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., loved helping people and was not sorry for that.”

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People of color are disproportionately more likely to die than COVID-19, Brookings reported in June.

“Structural factors, including access to health care, family density, unemployment and types of employment, widespread discrimination and others, drive these disparities, not intrinsic characteristics of black or Latinx communities or individual-level factors,” said an amfAR study published earlier this year.

On Wednesday, there were more than 18.4 million cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. and at least 324,948 virus-related deaths, according to data from the New York Times.

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