Saturday, February 15, 2025

February 15, 2013: Untrained Staff + Non-Functioning Equipment = Dead Patient

Thirty-eight-year-old Maria Santiago ("Patient A") was an abortion patient at Associates in OB/GYN Care, a seedy Baltimore abortion facility located in a residential condominium complex. The medical director, Mansour G. Panah, had been disciplined by the state three times, including incidents in 1988 and 1995 when he had engaged in what the Baltimore Sun referred to as "unwanted sexual contact with patients."

According to an inspection conducted by the Maryland Department of Health, Maria was 12.5 weeks pregnant on February 13, 2013. The abortionist, Iris Dominy, did not obtain proper informed consent from Maria, who did not speak English or Spanish. She didn't perform a proper pre-operative physical examination. She didn't see to it that Maria was properly monitored while she was undergoing conscious sedation. 

Dominy told the inspector that Maria slept through her abortion, after which Dominy left the room. An unqualified worker, occupied with filling out paperwork, was left alone with the still-sedated patient, who was lying on the abortion table.

At some point, the worker called for a second worker to help her dress the unconscious patient and move her to the recovery area. The second worker noticed that Maria was pale and not breathing.

Dominy was notified and returned to the procedure room where she sat the unconscious patient up and began a “sternum rub,” an appropriate test to see if a patient is responsive but totally useless for telling if a sedated patient is breathing.

No one at the facility, including Dominy, had current CPR certification. A crash cart in the hallway was not used and the defibrillator was broken. Somebody, however, did call 911. Paramedics were able to revive Maria, who was transported her to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead two days later, February 15.

Maria’s death certificate showed she died from Severe Pulmonary Edema, Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, and Hypoxia Brain Injury. No one knows how long she was not breathing before CPR was begun. Inspectors concluded that staff failed to provide proper post-anesthesia care and observation.

The operating license of that facility was suspended after state inspectors determined that it posed a danger to the public. The Medical Board suspended Dominy's license. for working in a facility that endangered patients' lives by allowing unqualified staff to perform ultrasounds, evaluate patients, and administer medication without the doctor first examining the patient and determining if the medication was appropriate. 

Iris Dominy allowed her Maryland license to expire in 2018, though she still shows up as actively practicing in online physician searches. The clinic and its affiliated clinics in Cheverly, Frederick, and Silver Spring were affiliated with American Women's Services, controlled by the infamous Dr. Steven Chase Brigham.


Sources in links, plus the following:

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