39-year-old Petaluma man dies of swine flu

[Chuck]

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/articl...le=39-year-old-Petaluma-man-dies-of-swine-flu


39-year-old Petaluma man dies of swine flu
Photo provided by Denise Sturm
Tim Sturm is pictured here calf-roping, which he did competitively across the nation.

By PAUL PAYNE
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Published: Wednesday, July 22, 2009 at 4:29 p.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, July 22, 2009 at 4:29 p.m.

A 39-year-old Petaluma man, a longtime horseman and husband, is the third Sonoma County resident to die of swine flu.

Family members and the Sonoma County Coroner?s office confirmed the death Wednesday of Tim Sturm.

Sturm died at home early Friday after being sick for about a week, family members said. He was being treated at Kaiser Permanante in Santa Rosa for flu symptoms.

His family said he had mild asthma but was otherwise healthy.

?It?s the worst thing I?ve ever been through. He was the love of my life. He was my Superman,? said Denise Sturm, his wife.

Sturm worked as an operations manager for United Site Services and was a member of a competitive cattle roping team.

A lifelong Petaluma resident, he was married for 13 years.

Mark Netherda, the county?s deputy public health officer, confirmed a third death from the H1N1 virus, but refused to identify the person or offer any other details about age and location of the victim.

?I hear a lot of people say it?s just the flu,? said Netherda. ?But it?s not. This is a different organism.?

Sonoma County?s first swine flu fatality was an elderly man with a pre-existing medical condition who died June 20. The county has refused to identify him.

Sonoma County?s second swine flu victim was John ?JD? Dmitri Kaiwi, 43, of Forestville, who died July 7. Doctors said he had a previously unknown heart ailment.

 

[rootcellargal]

Re: 39-year-old Petaluma man dies of swine flu

The funeral for this poor man will be taking place about 10 minutes from my home today. The longer version of the story, in today's paper, says that he died TWO DAYS AFTER BEING TURNED DOWN FOR ADMISSION TO KAISER HOSPITAL. I have emailed the reporter to urge him to stay on the story of Kaiser's refusal to take this flu seriously. I would like to see them screen for and isolate possibly infectious patients, be willing to treat people with pre-existing conditions with antivirals while they might still have an effect, and generally inform their members of THE PLAN for the fall. (Hoping and assuming that there is a plan).

For instance, how will vulnerable patients who require meds which must be refrigerated (and thus can not be mailed) pick up their meds in a pharmacy full of sick people? I'd like to know this stuff NOW.

 

[Chuck]

Re: 39-year-old Petaluma man dies of swine flu

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/articl...902/1350?Title=Petaluma-man-dies-of-swine-flu

39-year-old Petaluma man dies of swine flu
Photo provided by Denise Sturm
Tim Sturm is pictured here calf-roping, which he did competitively across the nation.

By PAUL PAYNE
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Published: Wednesday, July 22, 2009 at 4:29 p.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, July 22, 2009 at 4:29 p.m.

A 39-year-old Petaluma man is the third Sonoma County resident to die from complications of swine flu.

Family members and the county Coroner?s Office confirmed on Wednesday that Timothy Sturm, a competitive horseman, tested positive for the H1N1 virus.

He died at home early Friday after being sick for about a week, family members said. He was being treated at Kaiser Permanente in Santa Rosa for flu symptoms.

Family said he had mild asthma but was otherwise healthy. They said he died less than two days after being turned down for admittance to Kaiser Hospital.

?It?s the worst thing I?ve ever been through. He was the love of my life. He was my Superman,? said Denise Sturm, his wife of 13 years.

Sturm worked as an operations manager for United Site Services, a septic disposal company, and was a member of a competitive cattle roping team. He was a lifelong Petaluma resident and attended Rancho Cotate High in Rohnert Park.

?It?s terrible,? said friend Ted Bernard of Penngrove, who rode with Sturm in American Cowboy Team Roping Association events. ?We just can?t believe it. It?s just a bad deal.?

Sturm?s boss, Kevin Mellifont, said no other employees have reported being ill. ?It?s extremely unfortunate,? Mellifont said. ?Tim was wonderful for the company.?

Sonoma County?s first fatality from what health officials are now calling pandemic H1N1 2009 occurred June 20 when an elderly man with a pre-existing medical condition died. County officials have refused to identify him.

The second victim was John ?JD? Dmitri Kaiwi, 43, of Forestville, who died July 7. Doctors said he had a previously unknown heart ailment.

Mark Netherda, the county?s deputy public health officer, wouldn?t discuss the latest case but said asthma can put people more at risk.

?Asthma is a serious underlying condition,? Netherda said. ?It could predispose someone to complications and even death.?

Unlike other illnesses that fall hardest on the frail and elderly, the H1N1 virus is taking a toll on middle-age people who have not developed immunities, Netherda said.

Nationally, the average age of death from the virus is 49, he said.

?I hear a lot of people saying it?s just the flu, but it?s not,? Netherda said. ?This is a different organism. The risk groups normally affected ? the old and young ? that?s not the risk group here. It looks more like the middle-ground people.?

As of last week in Sonoma County, there had been 17 confirmed cases and 50 probable ones, he said. There could be more because not everyone is tested for the virus, he said.

The pandemic does not appear to be getting worse, but it will become the dominant strain during this year?s flu season, Netherda said.

People should prepare by getting their normal flu shot and a vaccine against H1N1 when it becomes available, he said.

?This thing is here to stay, I?m afraid,? Netherda said.

Family members said Sturm went to Kaiser in Santa Rosa on July 11 complaining of a head cold. Doctors told him he had a mild strain of the flu and prescribed medications, his wife said.

Four days later, he was running a 103-degree temperature, couldn?t keep his food down and had a tightening sensation in his lungs, she said.

He went to the Kaiser emergency room Wednesday in Santa Rosa, asking to be admitted to the hospital, but doctors sent him home with fluids and other drugs with the promise he would be better by Monday, his wife said.

He died in his sleep early Friday morning, she said.

Funeral services are at 11 a.m. today at Pleasant Hill Cemetery in Sebastopol, his wife said.

?The doctors neglected to take care of my husband,? Denise Sturm said. ?I asked them Wednesday, the ER doctor if it was swine flu. She said she couldn?t say. She wouldn?t say. She just put him on fluids.?

Kaiser officials also would not discuss the case out of privacy concerns but expressed condolences.

?We understand this is an emotional situation for the family, and extend our sympathy and continued support,? Kaiser spokesman Carl Campbell said in a written statement.

You can reach Staff Writer Paul Payne at 762-7297 or paul.payne@pressdemocrat.com.

 

[Zac]

Re: 39-year-old Petaluma man dies of swine flu

I wonder if Kaiser gave him tamiflu or relenza. The article just said ER doctors had "sent him home with fluids and other drugs." I hope they will sequence severe cases like this.

 

[rootcellargal]

Re: 39-year-old Petaluma man dies of swine flu

Just drove by Tim Sturn's funeral in our local beautiful semi-rural cemetery on my way to town. There were LOTS of people and LOTS of pick-up trucks! I have the sad feeling that this perhaps did not have to happen. I wonder too about the Tamiflu and Relenza question. I tend to doubt it based on my experiences with Kaiser and others I've heard about. They just do not seem to be giving out Tamiflu until a person is hospitalized and in desperate condition. I don't know what the heck they think they're saving it for!

They'd better not just chalk it up to "underlying conditions"!

 

[Zac]

Re: 39-year-old Petaluma man dies of swine flu

I have a couple friends who have had bad experiences with Kaiser. One friend's wife had a difficult time giving birth, but Kaiser tried to discharge her the day after anyway even though she could barely get out of bed or stand up unassisted.

Another friend got a skin infection and went to a Kaiser clinic. They gave him a antifungal cream. (this was over 10 years ago, before many of these products' patents expired and some were made OTC) That didn't work so he went back a couple weeks later and was given a different product. That also didn't work so he went back again and was given yet another product which finally worked. I was curious and looked up the prescriptions he had received and it turns out the first product he got was the cheapest, the second somewhat more expensive, and the last the most expensive. I don't want to imply that efficacy is always a function of cost, but this patterns suggests Kaiser (and probably other HMO's) prescribe based on cost rather than efficacy. Rather than prescribing a product that is most likely to cure the ailment, they first prescribe the cheaper product that might be effective.

 

[rootcellargal]

Re: 39-year-old Petaluma man dies of swine flu

Our family has had a terrible experience with this exact Kaiser hospital too. Almost 2 years ago my teenage son's wound with bacterial infection was misdiagnosed (undertreated) and he was sent home. Just a few hours later he was in a speeding ambulance to a special facility (Pediatric ICU) 2 hours away where he was promptly put on a ventilator. He spent 3 days fighting for his life, about a week in the ICU and months and months recovering. All because a Kaiser doc didn't take it seriously enough to start with. I'm afraid I don't have much faith in people at this facility doing the right thing at the right time.

 

[rootcellargal]

Re: 39-year-old Petaluma man dies of swine flu

Just read through the comments on the Press Democrat's web site about this article. One poster, who seems to know what he's talking about, said that Tim was not given antivirals. He was instead given Temazepam and Vicodin. I'm sorry-I don't know how to post the link to this. If someone else is able to do it-it's on the 3rd page of comments. This commenter "Robert" says he is a doctor and it sounds to me like he knows the family.

Sounds like some serious malpractice.

 

[Zac]

Re: 39-year-old Petaluma man dies of swine flu

Just read through the comments on the Press Democrat's web site about this article. One poster, who seems to know what he's talking about, said that Tim was not given antivirals. He was instead given Temazepam and Vicodin. I'm sorry-I don't know how to post the link to this. If someone else is able to do it-it's on the 3rd page of comments. This commenter "Robert" says he is a doctor and it sounds to me like he knows the family.

Sounds like some serious malpractice.

This is the comment in question and some subsequent ones from the same person:

Dispensing temazepam (sleeping pill/tranquilizer) and vicodin (opiate painkiller) for a respiratory illness is very peculiar.

---

robert

Posted 23 July 2009 06:22 AM

"He was being treated at Kaiser Permanente in Santa Rosa for flu symptoms."

He was given temazepam and Vicodin which likely contributed to his death. He was not given Relenza or even Tamiflu after being diagnosed with H1N1. This would be OK if he was on Hospice, but is malpractice for an otherwise healthy young man.


robert

Posted 23 July 2009 08:17 AM

quote:
Originally posted by java1191:
There are others at United with the symptoms. I wish I didn't have Kaiser

It is imperative that you an your colleagues get swabbed for influenza A. Swine flu (H1N1) is a subtype of the usual flu A virus.

Kaiser uses a viral culture test that takes three or more days to finalize a result. I spoke with their lab personnel last night and learned that the Kaiser Labs did not purchase any of the rapid tests that are available. There are many to choose from.

I recommend this;

1. Go to another facility (urgent care, private office, labcorp, state public heath department) and ask for a rapid influenza A test. Wait at the facility until you have the results in hand. Turnaround is fifteen minutes.

2. Go to Kaiser regardless of your test results and get swabbed for the 3-day culture. The rapid test is not as accurate as the culture, but you gain a time advantage in doing the rapid screen.

3. If the rapid test is positive, or if you have a fever over 102, demand that Kaiser put you on Relenza for treatment. If the test is negative and you have no fever, demand that Kaiser put you on Tamiflu for 10 days as prophylaxis.


robert

Posted 23 July 2009 09:32 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Thumper@comcast.net:
Some of us have had this strain of flu back in the 70s and 80s. Kaiser should be held responsible for denying this man help in light of his asthma, though it's possible he still wouldn't have made it--they were only treating what they could, the symptoms. Get a flu shot. And usual haters--get the flu.



Your fatalistic attitude is alarming.

Tim's prognosis with appropriate antiviral therapy, hospitalization, acute asthma treatment and if needed, intubation with ventilatory support, would have been excellent.

I have a 70-year-old woman friend who had exactly the same scenario. Was admitted to a Magnet Hospital in Wisconsin with H1N1. Was intubated after two days of in-hospital observation, developed ARDS on day 4 and was extubated on day 12. She had a full recovery and is back to her normal life.

Although Tim's age makes him more susceptible to infection with H1N1, a 70-year-old woman has a marked disadvantage once she is intubated due to advanced age and decreased baseline health status.

Tim was very fit and should have been admitted for treatment. You would be hard-pressed to find any guideline or expert that would tell you otherwise.


robert

Posted 23 July 2009 06:51 PM Hide Post

quote:
Originally posted by mswhit:
I have to say I'm a little surprised by all the horror stories I've read of this blog today. People pay big money for Kaiser Insurance & it appears they are getting indifferent, third world treatment. If there are any attorneys reading this is seems like a class action suit could be in the works. This many examples on this blog alone in reference to a story is way too many. They should be held accountable to their actions. Be nice if people don't turn this into a race issue...it's a hospital issue.



I moonlighted at Kaiser San Mateo during my residency in 1996. Malpractice was the status quo. The physicians and staff were apathetic. Patients were clueless. The urgent care head nurse called it 'managed malpractice' when I expressed my concern about the low quality of care. After my fourth work-day, I quit for fear of being associated with such substandard care.
---

Also, they got rid of the link for that article and created this one:
(interesting the comments were not linked with this new article)

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20090723/COMMUNITY/907239997

 

[Evelyn]

Re: 39-year-old Petaluma man dies of swine flu

People close to me have had extremely negative experiences with Kaiser Permanente in the San Diego area. IMO, anyone who has to deal with the Kaiser system while seriously ill needs a friend or family member present as much of the time as possible. Without someone to act as advocate, a patient can fall through the cracks in a dreadful way.

 

[rootcellargal]

Re: 39-year-old Petaluma man dies of swine flu

Zac, Thank you for posting those very telling comments! It's very weird that they got rid of yesterday's comments on the new link, but Kaiser has A LOT of pull in this area.