SLAPPed for Telling the Truth
I found myself compelled into the complex world of healthcare advocacy under extraordinary circumstances last year when I went to my university administration to request a table to do a free speech petition because of a personal and troubling experience. My mother, a respected pediatric intensive care doctor, had been abruptly terminated from Northern Light Health’s Eastern Maine Medical Center after she raised concerns about patient safety.
Throughout my studies as an undergraduate at the University of Maine, I frequently encountered challenges acclimating to the inevitable hardships and struggles that surfaced, so I decided to look into issues at the hospital more thoroughly after learning about my mother’s unfair dismissal and the underlying safety concerns she had identified. During the course of my research, I gained a greater understanding of the hospital’s dismal safety record, which in turn strengthened my resolve to push for change. In addition to my mother’s situation, I was aware that the health of other patients admitted to the hospital could be in jeopardy.
The university reached out to Northern Light Health, and despite the fact that we agreed to meet at a particular date and time, Northern Light Health changed their minds and canceled the appointment. Additionally, my university insisted on charging me $250 each time I wanted to use the free speech table. Consequently, I filed a petition on Change.org and utilized social media in order to get the word out about the situation. In addition to that, I penned an editorial for the school newspaper that demanded an investigation.
The response I received was one of intimidation rather than consideration and conversation. A legal-threatening document was sent to my family with the fabrication of charges that my mother had ghostwritten my advocacy work. The hospital conglomerate also threatened to file a defamation action against her. The influence that they exercised over me was terrible. This was more than simply an attempt to keep me silent; it was a horrifying picture of the power of an influential university donor. They have continued to pursue the defamation case against me, but they haven’t against my mom.
My story is centered on the significance of communicating one’s thoughts and feelings and making use of one’s right to do so. It places an emphasis on the necessity of protecting patients and supplying individuals of all ages with the opportunity to advocate for change without the fear of being punished.
Both the safety of patients and the efficiency of lobbying are concepts that I have a deep belief in. Your support for my petition does more than only help me; it also protects the right of every patient and their family to receive healthcare that is both competent and safe.
Please take into consideration signing my petition if you are in agreement that the safety of patients ought to be a right rather than a privilege, and if you wish to demonstrate your support for my cause and let people know that we young advocates will not be silent.