In a statement provided to Grio, Indiana University Health Hospital addressed allegations of mistreatment about how Dr. Susan Moore was treated in the days before her death
When the coronavirus pandemic did a devastating scan around the world, it was clear that, although the virus did not respect borders, it affected people of color, especially blacks more than other groups. A survey by The Brookings Institution on COVID-19 considers it the third leading cause of death among black Americans.
The virus hit the medical community heavily in the early days, as healthcare professionals were among the countless numbers of people who were infected with the deadly virus. Dr. Susan Moore, a black doctor, aged 52, died of complications from COVID on December 20.
Read more: Black emergency doctor blocked in hospital after tweet about lack of beds in the ICU
While receiving treatment for the virus, Dr. Moore documented what she said was mistreatment by the hospital staff and attributed this mistreatment to the fact that she is a black woman.
Moore, over the month of December, documented progress on Facebook and, ultimately, the shortcomings of his experience with the virus and treatment in Indiana University Health Hospital system. The last video was on December 4, when she declared that the hospital staff tried to send her home.
“That’s how black people are killed, when you send them home and they don’t know how to fight for themselves,” said Moore in the video. Also adding: “I had to talk to someone, maybe the media, someone, so that people would know how I’m being treated in this place”.
Moore was diagnosed with the virus on November 29 and was later hospitalized, but says he had to beg a white doctor at the hospital for treatment and constant appeals to the patient’s lawyer were left unattended. When doctors finally tested Moore, they found further damage to her lungs, but kept her waiting for hours to receive pain killers.
Dr. Susan Moore in her video also spoke out against the racism she says came from hospital staff.
Read more: Nurse accuses El Paso doctors of neglecting COVID-19 patients
“And that nurse was saying to me, ‘Oh, I was marching on Black Lives Matter,'” said Moore. “I said to her, ‘No, I don’t believe any of that. Not even a little. Not even a little. You wouldn’t even know how to march. Probably can’t even spell. “
Later in the video, Moore could hear it saying, “I propose and maintain that if I were white, I wouldn’t have to go through this,” she said. “And that man never came back and apologized.”
Moore’s death after documenting his quality of care at the hospital sparked outrage online.
Moore’s viral video outraged other black black health professionals who quickly came to his defense. In a Instagram post by Dr. Charis Chambers, an OBGYN, weighed in on Moore’s death. Dr. Chambers noted that Moore was mistreated, discharged and readmitted to another hospital, but by the time she received proper care, it was too late.
New York-based Dr. Cleavon Gilman tweeted “Dr. Susan Moore died today from COVID, but HOW she died is unacceptable. ”
Dr. Camern Brown Besides that added in a tweet, “I’m upset because she didn’t have to die like this, her pain was discarded, she had to defend herself and was still ignored.”
On Facebook, notes from family members started to appear like this from Taunya Henderson who identified herself as Moore’s cousin. Henderson said Moore left behind a 19-year-old son and elderly parents, of whom she was the sole provider. A GoFundMe was created to help the family due to Moore’s premature death.
Indiana University Health Hospital in a statement to theGrio said: “We are very sad to hear about his death”, adding: “IU Health respects and maintains the patient’s privacy and cannot comment on a specific patient, his medical history or conditions.”
The hospital also addressed the allegation of racism. “As an organization committed to equity and the reduction of racial disparities in health,” continued the statement by Berkley Rios, from the Indiana University Health Indianapolis Suburban Region regional PR and social media department, “We take allegations of discrimination very seriously and investigate all allegations.”
Moore’s 19-year-old son, Henry Muhammed, confirmed that his mother died of COVID-19 complications for the New York Times. “Almost every time she went to the hospital, she had to defend herself, fight for something in some way, shape or form, just to get a baseline and adequate care,” said Muhammed.
His mother also had sarcoidosis, an inflammatory disease that attacks the lungs and used to be treated in hospitals.
An immigrant born in Jamaica, Moore grew up in Michigan, where he majored in engineering at Kettering University in Flint. She graduated in medicine from the University of Michigan Medical School.
Kelsey Minor is a 2x Emmy-winning freelance journalist who lives in New York City. You can follow his work on Twitter @theKELSEYminor.
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The post-Indiana hospital reacts to the black doctor dying of viruses after allegations of racism first appeared on TheGrio.