“Kaiser Permanente Dr. Syed Maksudul Hossain, Please Don’t Let my Friend Die”
By Janet Phelan No, this cry is not coming from Auschwitz, where Dr. Mengele regularly killed people whose “lives were not worth living.” Dr. Syed Hossain is ostensibly not a dedicated murderer, although after reading this article you may have your doubts. But like Dr. Mengele, Dr. Hossain is functioning in a system which increasingly disregards the sanctity of human life and often grants immunity to medical professionals for depraved acts of negligence. “Scott C.” was sent to a nursing home in Los Angeles following an evaluation at White Memorial Hospital which revealed he had hydrocephalus, a condition that may be caused by a blow to the head and is treatable through surgical intervention. A shunt is placed in the head in order to drain off the fluid. However, the attending doctor at White Memorial, a Dr. Ho, did not suggest any treatment for Scott, who at age 70 was experiencing effects of what is colloquially termed “water on the brain.” The effects include memory loss and gait problems. Without treatment, the prognosis is dim and he can expect increasing memory and gait issues, culminating in death. A Dr. Syed Hossain is listed as Scott’s physician. After being vetted and approved as an authorized person who may receive otherwise private medical information about a patient, I attempted to reach Dr. Hossain. The nursing home administrator kindly provided Dr. Hossain’s cell number. An irritated Dr. Hossain answered my first call, and directed me to call his office, which I did. He did not return the call. I called a second time and was again shuffled off. I also reached out to Mental Health Advocacy, a long-standing law firm in Los Angeles which purportedly serves a disabled population. After going through an… Read More