Statement from Ruth Attaway, CEO of Calhoun-Liberty Hospital
First, our deepest sympathies are with the Dawson Family. To lose a patient and a member of our community is heartbreaking, especially during the holidays.
Second, I want to stress that the circumstances surrounding Ms. Dawson's death will be fully reviewed. We pride ourselves in caring for our community, and our staff - as small as we are - is dedicated to compassion and quality care.
Based on information from the 14th District ME's office, Ms. Dawson passed away due to pulmonary saddle embolus, or a blood clot in her lungs. While we can't speak about her condition, we can generally address this medical condition. A pulmonary embolism is often immediate and fatal. It is difficult to detect and can be impossible to treat.
We've been asked about why Ms. Dawson was removed from our facility and again, while we can't discuss her situation directly, we can say we generally only ask patients to be removed when there is a cause for concern about other patients' care or safety.
We also understand from media accounts that FDLE is launching an investigation. We have not yet been contacted, but we intend to cooperate fully because we are confident in our standards of care.
