Unless I'm mistaken, the Commissioner for the New York State Dept. of Health, Dr. Richard Daines, is also the president of St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital where my abuse took place. How's that for a conflict of interest?
I originally wrote to Dr. Daines on November 4, 2005, seven days after the birth of my daughter and Dr. Claudia Holland's abusive behavior. Dr. Daines--the president of St. Luke's-Roosevelt--didn't respond, but I got a letter from Dr. Oded Langer, the Chairman of Obstetrics and Gynecology, shrugging off the whole incident, referring to it as "mutual agitation." (To which I say, a surgeon's lack of self control should not be compared with the agitation of a pregnant woman about to undergo surgery who is being shouted at and then slammed repeatedly on the OR table.)
There were some comments to my original post that have oddly disappeared. I'm not technically savvy, so if anyone knows how to get in touch with the folks at eblogger, please let me know.
I originally wrote to Dr. Daines on November 4, 2005, seven days after the birth of my daughter and Dr. Claudia Holland's abusive behavior. Dr. Daines--the president of St. Luke's-Roosevelt--didn't respond, but I got a letter from Dr. Oded Langer, the Chairman of Obstetrics and Gynecology, shrugging off the whole incident, referring to it as "mutual agitation." (To which I say, a surgeon's lack of self control should not be compared with the agitation of a pregnant woman about to undergo surgery who is being shouted at and then slammed repeatedly on the OR table.)
There were some comments to my original post that have oddly disappeared. I'm not technically savvy, so if anyone knows how to get in touch with the folks at eblogger, please let me know.
posted by 4Moms2B at 7:51 AM
16 Comments:
I am shocked by the way you were treated. It is unfortunate that Dr. Holland took out her frustrations on you. But it is also unfortunate that our lawsuit-happy society has created this kind of atmosphere for all of us. These days, it seems like nobody can accept that sometimes things just happen; that there are circumstances beyond anyone's control, and people do make mistakes (even doctors, unfortunately). Obviously, in your case, this doctor was not "making a mistake"--she was freaking out! I can't imagine what would have caused her to lose it, except that maybe she was under a lot of pressure. Still, that was no excuse for her very bad behavior. She was obviously ashamed of her behavior, which is why she didn't come in to examine you after the surgery (as she responsibly should have, since she performed the surgery and knew exactly what had happened), and why she continues to spout untruths. I'm so glad I don't have an OB like that!
Anyway, I noticed in some earlier posts that you are very concerned about your future ability to have children. You also mentioned pain you were having six months after the procedure. My first birth was vaginal, and I had pain from that until my daughter was almost a year old. The majority of it was probably from the episiotomy, which seems lame because it's such a tiny cut! The births I've had following that (3) have all been C-sections. As you heal, you do experience some pain in the area, especially when your body is trying to heal and get back into shape. It's the scar tissue and the tissue surrounding it. It's not a big deal. I have also had pain in the area during my pregnancies because of the stretching of the tissue. Have a competent medical professional examine you--he or she will be able to tell you if you are OK (I'm sure you've done that already). You probably had more trauma to the area than usual because of the violent way the doctor operated, but you're probably fine (I truly hope). Unfortunately, you are also suffering PTSD, which I hope you will be able to get help with so that you do not have problems during the next pregnancy, if you choose to have one.
I personally did not choose a VBAC because the data at the time suggested the risk of uterine rupture was much higher than previously thought, and I know enough about rupture to be concerned for the baby's safety and mine as well. But everyone has to make their own decision, and do what feels right to them. Sometimes I think it would be awesome to go back to a vaginal birth, but the risk is MUCH too high now that I've had 3 sections and will be having my fourth October 8. (Sometimes I daydream that I go into labor and have the baby before I'm even taken into surgery--crazy, I know, but it shows you how women cherish the feeling they did it all themselves.) Nevertheless, I know that I have given my babies life, and I am raising them, and that is what truly matters.
I hope that you will be able to have your case resolved, and that you and your family will be able to have better experiences in the future.
I went to Dr, H. many years ago after my regular OB/GYN informed me that I was pregnant, but she could no longer deliver because her malpactice insurance was too high. I had to find another doctor. I'm married to a doctor who upon our first visit challenged Dr. Holland about her C-section rate. He would have challenged any doctor on same. He is from another country and viewed the C-section rate in the US too high. I ended up with a C-section for both pregnancies. My care was really great with Dr. H. We tried to do the natural thing....but alas after a gazillion hours of labor and a few scares...a C-section was opted in both cases. My daughter had the cord around her neck and my son was huge! I've continued to see her long after my children have grown older. I do consider her a straight shooter, like my husband with his patients and I like that. I know what you mean about the body banging on the table...it happened to me too...Dr. H. appeared to be nearly on top of the table trying to pull the baby out. I figured it was like my dentist who did the same thing while trying to snag my wisdom tooth. Weird, but no worries. I experienced sensitivity around the incision area too, but now gone. I sent a friend to Dr. H, but she didn't like her manner either.
Look, abuse has no excuse, but once you elect to enter the hospital...the reality is you in essence agree with their rules of operations..and their rules are driven by insurance and liability. Patients ALWAYS have the right to leave against medical advice. ALWAYS! Unfortunately you were too far down the road, I know.
Upon consultation....I've opted several times against medical advice when I've disagreed with or felt that care needed to be different.
If the point of this blog is to get folks to make an informed decision about C-sections....BRAVO!
However...I would redirect the focus from one individual which narrows the focus too much, to
a broader exploration of the impact of malpractice insurance and other related topics. Otherwise you risk relegating this potentially useful blog into something more trivial.
Thanks, Egis
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I am so sorry for your experience with Dr. C. Holland and want you to know that I strongly disagree with Egis' last comment about trivializing your blog by focusing sharply on your experience with this horrible doctor! I know secondhand the trauma that you've been through and I wish you a full and speedy recovery. My partner and I have recently been through an experience of our own with Dr. Holland-- the birth of our son-- the facts of which will be fully revealed in the coming days on your blog. I'm very sorry that you've been through this experience, but am delighted that there is a place that we can go to express our outrage at the situation and this reprehensible individual that calls herself a doctor and the "professional" industry and institution that allows her to continue to practice her abuses.
Thank you for your candor with this very personal experience and I will look forward to reading your story and telling mine in the future as time allows.
You can't hold public office and run a private company at the same time. Dr. Daines was president of St. Luke's until January 2007.
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Response to Pixie:
Firstly, though I agree with you in sentiment that one can't believe everything one hears or that is published— Even an ardent fan of C. Holland must take to heart the number of different women who have had too similar experiences with her. If it were one or two women who had had issue and had complained then I think that one might say that there was a misunderstanding or that C. Holland could be having a “bad day.” (That would still be no excuse for the behavior she is described as having, as when OBGYN’s in the delivery room have a “bad day” – well, you’re the mother of three, I’ll leave it to your imagination.)
Secondly, these traits that you describe in C. Holland-- professionalism, medical knowledge, warmth and a caring attitude -- of them, I could not argue that she is knowledgeable, but, hey -- I’m not a doctor. These other attributes you describe were not observed by myself or any of the four “civilians” in the room (they included my partner, myself, my partner’s mother, and our doula. In fact, C. Holland performed just the opposite of your description -- UNPROFESSIONAL, CALLOUS AND UNCARING. She was nothing but a bully and that her hands were the first to touch my son so angers me that to this day I respond vehemently to anyone that could believe the contrary. I mean—do you think these women who have had these experiences are just making this up, or dislike her so badly that they want to sabotage her career? No. They are among the growing number of women that C. Holland has misused her authority on when they are at their most vulnerable to a point of abnormal trauma. If you think that these women are just more sensitive than others, I say to you, I witnessed it and what I saw amounted to medical mutilation by an angry “professional” – I firmly believe the only thing “twisted or distorted” in any of these postings are the actions of C. Holland herself. Expectant mothers considering C. Holland BEWARE!!! The fact that C. Holland was not my partner’s OBGYN and was on-call may have had something to do with it—perhaps C. Holland ‘takes care of her own’— but then what of her Hippocratic Oath? There is no excuse for what I saw, or any of her behaviors described by others in this blog.
Lastly, something led you here to this blog, Pixie- Perhaps you recommended a friend or family member and they did a web search and told you what they’d found, or perhaps C. Holland herself dropped a little hint that she was the object of negative “press.” Let me tell you this: This is an open forum and C. Holland is welcome at any time to “defend” herself from any of these accusations. That her patients do it for her is something I liken to the fact that we as human beings have the need to see the good in others and are blinded to the reprehensible things in human nature—we just can’t believe that someone we like or care about or even love is capable of such horrible things.
Please believe me when I say in all sincerity that the woman you defend is quite capable of all of these things and she will more than likely continue to do it to other women at their most vulnerable until she is brought to task.
I too had a very bad experience with Dr. Holland that I won't go into here. My OB was actually Vanessa Dinnall but Dr. Dinnall must have arranged to have Dr. Holland deliver some of her patients (I didn't know about this arrangement and I didn't meet Dr. Holland until it was time to push out the baby.) I never submitted a complaint because I don't have any proof that she did anything wrong. I would be happy to talk to anyone doing an investigation about my experience. If I wanted to submit a complaint, what would be the best way to do so?
Perhaps I haven't read enough of your posts to know whether you have retained an attorney, but if you haven't you need to RETAIN AN ATTORNEY NOW.
I'm no expert, but I'll bet you only have a certain amount of time within which you can bring suit, and if what you say happened is true, you really need an attorney - for your sake and for the sake of all mothers.
Oh, and egis: "Look, abuse has no excuse, but once you elect to enter the hospital...the reality is you in essence agree with their rules of operations..and their rules are driven by insurance and liability. Patients ALWAYS have the right to leave against medical advice. ALWAYS! Unfortunately you were too far down the road, I know."
-WHAT!!!????!!!??? ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT.
Once you enter into a hospital you have not implicitly subjected yourself to every procedure and practive they decide is necessary for you! That mindset is exactly what is wrong with the healthcare system in America today. (and frankly, much of America, period.) Instead of taking responsibility for informed decisions and personal choice, we prefer to file into a "professional's" realm, and like a bunch of sheep just fall in line. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS IMPLICITLY ACCEPTING EVERY PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE OF A HOSPITAL JUST BECUASE YOU ENTER INTO THEIR CARE - IT OUGHT TO BE AN INFORMED PROCESS THAT IS MADE TOGETHER, IN PARTNERSHIP, NOT BY A DOCTOR'S DICTATIONS!
I was assaulted by Dr. Claudia Holland, in St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital, the day of my delivery. Unfortunately, neither my doctor or his practice was available to deliver my baby and I met her just a few hours before my baby was born.
I suggest doing the following:
1. Contact your health insurance provider and register a formal complaint.
2. Contact the Office of Professional Medical Conduct and request a complaint form. It will be mailed to you within days. Ph: (518) 402.0836
3. Tell Dr. Dinall about your experience
4.Keep a log of all your phone calls, emails and contacts. Jot down the bad experience you had under her "care" so you don't forget the details!
5. Get an attorney
6.Contact the Chairman of the hospital where you gave birth. Ask for a meeting.
We bloggers, should all take our collective, horrific experiences and give Dr. Holland a run for her money and medical degree!
Undoubtedly, Dr. Holland was under a great deal of pressure in order to bring her to the kind of state she was in when she burst into the O.R. where I was waiting. Nevertheless, I've always held doctors to a higher standard, and this behavior was the lowest, not worthy of the life (my baby's) I entrusted in her hands, or my health. I'm sorry if I can't be more sympathetic about her having a bad day. Furthermore, how can one account for the lies she told AFTER that day, e.g. that she did come to see me in recovery when she had not?
I noticed too that some postings had been deleted-since I check this website often. I was assaulted by Dr. Holland and I am deeply traumatized by the experience. Please, if you could email me guarionexmom@gmail.com, I would like to get the name of the lawyer you used.
4/19/08
It has been four years since the birth of my son at St. Luke's.
I am shaking after reading all the blogs and feel so sad that this woman thinks she has the right to act the way she does.
I went to deliver my baby at St. Lukes starting off in the birthing room with a midwife. My baby's heartbeat was too fast so I was moved up a floor to the delivery ward. Dr. Holland was the doctor on call that night and when the nurses felt it was the right time, they called her. She entered the room with a sour face, chewing gum and hardly looking at me when she spoke.
She performed the first vaginal exam and said that I was only 4 cm dilated and seemed annoyed by this.
She told me she would be breaking my waters and wanted to speed things along. I asked her not to ( I knew it didn't have to be done at that point and that my contractions would become very painful once this happened) and she just left the room without saying anything.
I continued to labor nicely.
She came back about half an hour later and wanted to do another exam. As she was getting close I was starting to have a contraction and I asked her if she would wait until it had finished. She ignored me and went ahead with the exam to my absolute discomfort as I continued to plead for her to stop.
I felt so violated and was so shocked by her decision to ignore me.
After this, I stopped laboring. My body seemed to shut down and I went to sleep.
I did not see her again. That was around 4am.
At 8am Dr. Holland's shift finished and Dr. Patrick took over.
Dr. Holland came in and introduced herself with a bright smile on her face.
My labor resumed! She broke my waters and I gave birth at 10am to a bouncing 10lb 3oz boy.
I often think about my experience with Dr. Holland. Giving birth is a once in a life time experience for us and we are so vulnerable at that moment in time.
When I hear of friends planning to give birth at St. Lukes, I make sure they tell their doctor, that under no circumstances do they want Dr. Claudia Holland to deliver their baby.
So far provisions have always been in place to avoid her.
With the amount of complaints about her, it proves that she is not just having a 'bad day'. She is so jaded and purely a nasty piece of work.
I would be happy to tell of my experience to anyone who needs it.
Linda Phillips
I made a typo towards the end of my blog. It was Doctor Patrick who came in an introduced herself with a smile on her face - certainly was NOT Dr. Holland!
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Guari said...
Linda P.
Your story does not surprise me. Dr. Claudia Holland delivered my first-born and she verbally and physically assaulted me during and after the delivery.
During the summer of 2008, roughly 9 months after I gave birth, I met with Dr. Holland, the Chief Medical Officer, the VP of Quality Assurance, and a man by the name of Louis Shenkel (spelling, I forget his title) and voiced my ordeal with them. I requested the following to be done:
1. For patients to be screened/surveyed 2-3 weeks after delivery on their experience with Dr. Holland.
2. I requested for NYC Doula's Agencies to be called and asked about their experience with Dr. Holland. I spoke to several NYC Doula's and they all confirmed her lack of 'medical professionalism.'
During the meeting with the hospital staff, I provided them with a list of patients that had been assaulted by Dr. Holland as well. These patients were never contacted. My requests, to this day, have not been met.
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