COMES NOW Plaintiffs, Velma Hardester and Mary Jo Melton, by and through their attorneys, and for Count II of their cause of action against Defendants, Tenet St Alexius Hospital, Inc. and Tenet Health System Hospitals, Inc. (hereinafter collectively referred to as “St. Alexius Hospital”) states as follows:

            1.         Plaintiffs incorporate Count I as though fully set forth herein.

            2.         That at all times herein mentioned, St. Alexius Hospital acted by and through its agents, servants, employees, physicians, nurses and staff, and all of them were acting within the scope and course of their employment with St. Alexius Hospital.

            3.         That at all times herein mentioned St. Alexius Hospital granted privileges and employed Defendant Ronald Gaskin, M.D. as a gastric bypass surgeon within its program at St. Alexius Hospital known as New Start as well as allowing him to hold himself out as a qualified New Start bariatric surgeon.     

            4.         That in October and November 2002, the Decedent, Ronald Hardester, became a patient of New Start and its physician Ronald Gaskin, M.D. at St. Alexius Hospital and was treated by St. Alexius Hospital’s agents, servants, employees, physicians, nurses, and staff.

            5.         That the death of Plaintiffs’ spouse and father, Ronald Hardester, was directly and proximately caused by the negligence of the agents, servants, employees, physicians, nurses, and staff of St. Alexius Hospital and New Start acting within the scope and course of their employment in the following respects:

            A.        They failed to properly and timely diagnosis and treat post-operative gastrointestinal leak, abscess, wound breakdown, fistula, peritonitis, and infection in Ronald Hardester’s digestive system;

            B.         They failed to adhere to and comply with the standard duty of care for healthcare providers as specifically set out in ST-34 by the American College of Surgeons, in that the New Start program was a deficient program in the competence of its physicians and staff;

            C.        They failed to timely treat Ronald Hardester to prevent decubitis ulcers and to prevent the spread of decubitis ulcers; including failure to adequately turn Ronald Hardester and have the proper equipment to hinder the development of decubitis ulcers in bedridden patients;  

            D.        They failed to communicate the information regarding symptoms and signs provided to them by Ronald Hardester after discharge from the hospital to any New Start physician whose duty it was to treat Ronald Hardester;

            E.         They placed, granted privileges, advertised, and retained Ronald Gaskin, M.D. as a bariatric surgeon in their gastric bypass program, New Start, sending him patients including Ronald Hardester, when St. Alexius Hospital knew or should have known about the high rate of serious infections, incompetence, and complications rates of Ronald Gaskin, M.D.;

            F.         They failed to adequately and accurately monitor the infection, complication, and death rates of Ronald Gaskin, M.D. and failed to adequately supervise Ronald Gaskin, M.D. and permitted him to maintain privileges as a New Start bariatric surgeon when they knew or should have known that he was not competent to do so;

            G.        That their standards for bariatric surgeons for their New Start program permitted Ronald Gaskin, M.D. to be retained as a bariatric surgeon when they knew or should have known he was not competent to be retained based upon his serious infection, complication, and death rate, including the surgery and care involving  Linda Slater; and

            H.        That they failed to suspend or terminate Ronald Gaskin, M.D.’s surgical privileges after he wantonly caused the death of Linda Slater and they failed to adequately investigate the Linda Slater case;

            I.          That they failed to provide or recommend that Ronald Hardester stay in the St Louis area after discharge to permit adequate follow up treatment and failed to instruct Ronald Hardester regarding signs and symptoms that must be reported and why these signs and symptoms must be reported and they failed to give Ronald Hardester the proper contact information regarding reporting problems or concerns.

            J.       That they advertised and presented seminars to the public and surgical candidates through employees who were not competent to give such informational seminars and the information provided was inadequate, incorrect, misleading, inaccurate and incomplete;

            K.        That they presented inadequate, incorrect, misleading, inaccurate and incomplete information in New Start seminars pertaining to the risks,  complications and hazards presented by bariatric surgery

            6.         That as the direct and proximate result of the negligence of St. Alexius Hospital, as aforesaid, Ronald Hardester died and Plaintiffs, Velma Hardester and Mary Jo Melton, sustained the following damages: loss of services, consortium, support, companionship, comfort, guidance, counsel, instruction and the reasonable costs associated with the burial of the Decedent, as well as, the medical bills to treat his condition in excess of six million dollars and the pain,  suffering, mental anguish, and emotional distress of Ronald Hardester.