It sounds like an informative book so I'm not bashing it, and I haven't read it.

Anything that will help make our children safer in the hospital, I'm all for.

I do find it interesting that according to the article, it seems like the author/parent is pointing the finger at the medical staff, when the initial neglagence occurred at home, I assume under Sorrel's watch.

How does an 18 month old fry herself in a bathtub at home??

I'm a mom of four and thankfully we haven't had any serious injuries at home, and I know that could happen - I'm not perfect and I can't be everywhere at once.

I guess parents aren't perfect and neither are medical staff.

Sorrel is on target in recommending that hospitals have rapid response teams. St. Joseph Medical Center has had a Rapid Response Team (RRT) since 2005 composed of an expert trio of a critical care physician, an intensive care nurse and a respiratory therapist that rushes to the patient’s bedside when called by the nurse or family. It’s a little like having an ambulance pull into the room – within minutes. St. Joseph was the first Baltimore hospital to assemble an RRT. They’ve handled more than 1,700 calls from staff worried about unexpected changes in patients – such as instability or difficulty breathing. The team has prevented cardiac arrests and sudden deaths. “Code Blues at St. Joseph are down by 50 percent,” according to Dr. Richard Linthicum, RRT critical care physician. Although family initiated responses don't happen frequently, the nursing teams do call upon the RRT to come to the bedside, and the results have been excellent. Dr. Richard Boehler, chief medical officer at St. Joseph, who was part of the intiative to create an RRT says, “There aren’t that many things in my career that I have seen have such a profound impact as the Rapid Response Team at St. Joseph.”

I agree with roxanne. There is no mentioning whatsoever about the initial accident where the baby aquired her burns which was at home. It is true that medical errors and negligence has caused lots of tragedies and deaths, but what about the parent's negligence?

Amen Roxanne.
How does an 18 month old child get burned in a bathtub? Water heater up too high maybe? Where was the person who was giving her a bath?

We are all limited foul able human beings. People make mistakes, we learn from them and move on.

I agree with that. In none of the articles I could find was the actual case found. I'd hardly call 'climbing into a hot bath' a "freak bath tub accident." Where exactly was mom when she had the "freak bath tub accident?" We don't talk about that though, do we. Or the fact that had she done her job, the hospital would have never been called into question.

I totally agree with Roxanne. I'm sure it must have been a terrible ordeal. But, I again think bringing up this situation is again a continued attempt by The Sun to ding Johns Hopkins. I don't know what the mistake was but I get tired of sensationalism by the Sun and the media. Medical mistakes are one of the worst things that can happen because they usually always affect the heart and soul of many families. I am convinced that we live in a world where perfection is expected in every situation but perfection can never be 100% achievable because of the human element.

I read an article in Good Housekeeping. Josie turned on the water in the fmaily bathtub and was burned so badly because the family's water heater was faulty. It was set at the recommended temp, but the actual temp of the water was about 20 degrees higher. The parents were told that had the water temp been what it was actually set for the child would not have required hospitalization.

Roxanne - Couldn't say it better. All the checks and balances in the world cannot prevent human error. Thank goodness these types of mistakes are few and far between in the medical community. You don't often hear of all the good outcomes from hospitals. Someone needs to stand up and give them some credit.

I have read many of the comments and although I have not read the story, my question is the same why was the medcial staff and hosptial blamed for a incident that was so horrable that a child under her own family's care got burned over 60% of her body and turn around and blame and sue the people who tried to help. What is this world coming to. Always pointing the finger at someone else. The fault belongs at home where she was surpose to be safe....

What has come out of this tragedy is not "who is to blame", but how to fix issues in hospitals. Because of the work that Sorrel King has done, I would guess that thousands of patients lives have been altered because of Rapid Response Teams. The governing body that regulates hospitals now mandates every hospital has a team like this and patients and families can access it along with staff if they have a worry about the patient. As a member of such a team at a small community hospital I applaud Mrs. King for turning a tradgedy into a good thing. I would guess that not a day goes by that she hasn't blamed herself for the loss of her precious baby. Even if the initial insult was her own fault, her baby was improving and should not have died. I don't think for a minute she is about bashing hospitals. She truely in advocating for patients and health care institutions to do better.

I encourage all of the posters to actually read the article. Clearly the accident should not have happened in the first place, that is why it is called an accident. But for the grace of God, that could be any parent. It is important to note that the child did not directly die because of the accident in her home. The child died because of dehydration at the hospital, an easily avoidable mistake. This is not a story of a greedy family, but rather a family who turned their personal tragedy into institutional change. This affluent family used the money from the lawsuit to create error reduction programs in hospitals.

Do you all feel better about yourself now that you've poured salt on the wound of the mother? Horrible accidents happen. Hopefully it won't take one happening to you or yours for you to learn that lesson.

I have not read this book. And, I have not read all of this story. This story is so sad that I will make time tomorrow to finish it. Shame on anyone that passes judgement on a mother who has lost her child. It is not your place. Nor, should you have such feelings after reading her story. I can't tell you how to feel. But, feel compassion, sorrow, sadness. Something along those lines. This could happen to any of us - you. Would you want people blaming you on a newspaper site for your child's death. That is a horrible thing folks. Please rethink about what has happened here. A mother, father, grandparents, and siblings lost a life that they loved. That's not an easy thing for anyone. Even hard for a stranger to read. So, in the morning wake up and hug the little ones that you have and feel blessed that a tragedy like this has not happened to you.

God bless this family.

Why do people find it necessary to blame the mother because the child was burned at home? How many parents have turned their heads for a split second during which time an avoidable accident occurs? That's why their called accidents! Nobody is bashing Hopkins, however, to have a child die of dehydration in a facility with highly trainined staff who should know what to look for is inexcusable. Put yourselves in the other person's shoes before you judge!

It's so easy to judge before knowing all the facts. The initial incident that led to Josie's hospitalization was caused by a faulty water heater. In homes you are supposed to set the maximum temperature to 120 degrees. Theirs read 120 but actually reached 160 degrees. Had their water heater not had this faulty indicator this accident never would have happened. There was an investigation with child services and they found it was NOT the fault of the family. I read this in an article in Good Housekeeping yesterday. I wish they had made it clear in this article because unfortunately it's taking the focus off of the good this family is doing.

I am AGAST at reading the comments above! Clearly, none of you have lost a child to a terrible tragedy...thank God, neither have I but when I read this story, it makes me think...let me check my hot water heater and let me make sure my child can't get in the bathrooms. It doesn't make me think that Josie's parents where bad. My child has been hurt (thankfully just scrapes and bumps) RIGHT in front of me and my husband...it's like slow motion! And these people making these comments criticize Josie's mother for an accident (accident is different than neglect in both the court of law and in my mind) that could occur in their homes...yes, it could! And it's definitely not negligence being the hot water heater gauge at their house READ WRONG! It was investigated after the accident and it was 30 degrees off. Have you had your water heater gauge calibrated lately? I doubt it and if not, this could happen to you too! Maybe if you'd read the story even in part before criticizing the mother, you'd think twice.

Not to mention, the medical staff WERE at fault for Josie's death! They even publicly state their fault. I work in a major health care facility, comparable in size to Johns Hopkins. We learned a LOT from Josie's story.

Yes, medical staff make terrible mistakes that can be prevented. Josie's mother speaks out to make health care better...and she has. Our hospital has an Emergency Response Team, like Sorrell educates about, and our families can activate this team. Without Sorrells story, we wouldn't had learned these things. She didn't write this book so you could cry with her...she wrote it so we'd learn from it! Yes, we're human and can't demand 100% perfection in health care (or parenting...ah-hem) but shouldn't we strive for it? I bet if your family member was laying in one of our hospital beds, you'd want to be sure we were striving for perfection and not just saying "ah...we're human...mistakes will happen...but we're pretty good." No...you (and we) want us striving for the best.

For those who do nothing but blame the mother for a terrible household accident, look around your house very carefully. It could happen to you today in a thousand different ways. I pray for you it doesn't. I pray we all learn from Josie's story. I will take colder showers now but it's worth it!

As for the comment of "People make mistakes, we learn from them and move on" I doubt the "move on" phase is so easy after the loss of a child.

Don't be a hippocrit. These comments condemn Sorrel for pointing the finger at healthcare yet all you do is point the finger at Sorrel. At least Sorrel's quest serves a purpose...it has improved healthcare...changed it forever over the last 5 or so years. You should be thanking her...you and your family will be safer when in a hospital because of her and her child.

Thank you Sorrell and Josie for making our hospital and my home a safer place.

I don't think anybody is pointing the finger at Josie, but just pointing out that there should be two separate lessons and focuses:

1) How to help prevent your toddler from drowning and/or burning themselves in a bathtub (checking hot water heater, door knob safety covers, supervision, gates around pools, and so on...

2) The quick response teams to help prevent things like dehydration in hospitals and other mistakes.

I think its completely wrong to blame. That's my point. Wrong to blame the parents or the hospital staff. They were both probably doing their best to care for Josie with the system they each had in place.

Accidents can't be prevented at home but not in hospitals? How does that make sense? We are all human.

No blame. And I think anybody with a heart has a great deal of compassion and knows that this type level of tragedy could happen to any of us. But hopefully not the same way, if we are educated and aware.

To the poster above, regarding having my water gauge checked recently.

No. I know my husband sets it at a safe place, but all I do as a mom is (unavoidably) feel the hot water when I use it.

With kids in the house, it should never scald. You can tell by touch if it is potentially dangerous...you'll yank your hand out very quickly.

All of this blather about the initial accident is detracting from the real point of this book: some medical errors are avoidable. Medical errors are now the fourth leading cause of death in America. And family members' concerns - as well as patients' concerns - are often ignored or brushed off by medical personnel. As a person who has been disabled for 40 of my 45 years after a childhood illness, I have dealt with the medical profession far more often than most folks do. I once had to scream at the top of my lungs to make a physician understand that he was inserting a needle directly into my spinal cord rather than into the covering - because he had not reviewed my x-rays as he should have (my spinal column is severely scoliotic - twisted - but he assumed he was working with normally-curved spine, though the test was to pinpoint areas of damage). Fortunately, a nurse listened to what I had tried to tell him in a normal voice for what seemed like minutes before I started screaming and was bringing the films to him - and stopped him. He was not at all concerned that I was screaming; was continuing his conversation with another medical worker at a raised volume as if I were just an annoyance. And he never acknowledged his error. He could easily have caused more damage, had the nurse not stopped him. And this happened at a well-respected hospital in a spinal cord clinic. I've seen a great decline in the attention to patients and family members concerns over the past 10-15 years. I am not certain why, but any mother who has lost a child due to medical malfeasance who had the courage, the guts to use her story and her settlement to try to make a difference has my gratitude. She could have mourned with her family and left others to their own fates. Instead, she made a difference. When you do have the unfortunate opportunity to deal with the medical world, I hope it is one that is willing to listen to you. You will be there one day.

Bottom line as health care provioders we have an obligation to the patients and their family to provide safe and accurate treatment while in our care. Mistakes happen but the initial accident should not be the main focus. I commend the mother for trying to prevent another tragedy while sharing the memory of her daughter.

I read this book and, although I admire Mrs. King's efforts to help prevent similiar medical tragedies for other families, I have a sense of unease about her behavior as a parent. No time-out for Josie's screaming temper tantrum and pulling her brother's hair? Even the five-year-old son is astute enough to observe his mother was spoiling Josie. Three adults in the house and no one can monitor one toddler? It would take a lot of time for Josie to get upsatirs, find her toy, turn on the water, and get into the bathrub, but the mother is listening to her mom and husband talk and is not paying attention? Mrs. King even neglects the poor 13-year old family dog because "no one cares about him" anymore? His being found dead in his dog house (by a neighbor, no less) and her glibness about his death is not a very responsibile example for her children. She wanted a big family, but the reality of caring for four children seems too much for her to cope with, and it appears she was not much of a disciplinarian. I am terribly sorry about what happened to Josie, but if her mother had been paying attention to the child, she never would have had to go to the hospital. I agree with those of you who feel Mrs. King needs to be accountable for the role she played in the tragedy. I also feel her efforts to make sure this tragedy does not happen to another family are very commendable.