Columns

Bereaved parents fight for change

By ANDREW SKERRITT
Published July 10, 2007

On July 4, Christy and Robert Jobmann Sr. popped fireworks, lit a candle and joined relatives in a toast. But the Spring Hill residents weren't just celebrating America's birthday; they were remembering their daughter, Rachael.

Two years ago, on the evening of Independence Day, they took their 7-month-old baby to Spring Hill Regional Hospital because she was congested.

The hospital staff treated Rachael all night for what they thought was pneumonia, but her condition worsened. Around dawn, they flew her to St. Joseph's Children's Hospital in Tampa.

Robert and Christy drove home and then headed for Tampa. By the time they reached St. Joseph's, their daughter was dead. An autopsy showed she had an enlarged heart.

Hardly a day goes by, I suspect, that doctors and nurses at this hospital don't save a life. But in this case, heartbroken parents think their baby would be alive if this area had more sophisticated emergency care for children.

Robert, a 38-year-old UPS driver, and Christy, 31, a day care provider, are suing the hospital, but that process is likely to draw out for years.

In the meantime, the couple are convinced that the local health care system can be improved so other parents don't suffer the same tragedy.

They've launched a petition drive to get health officials to "address the urgent need for pediatric emergency and critical care services" in Hernando County. They think very sick children ought to be able to get the best care close to home.

They've placed petitions at Mrs. B's day care, which Christy owns, and other day care providers around Hernando, and Robert is asking businesses along his delivery route to post petitions for folks to sign.

They're trying to take as many signatures as they can next month when they meet with administrators at St. Joseph's Children's Hospital and All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg.

They've also enlisted the help of Hernando County Commissioner Diane Rowden, who heard the couple speak at a recent commission meeting.

"They were pleading for help, and no one else knew how to respond," said Rowden, who knows what it's like to lose a child. Her son Jared, 11, died after a pool accident in 1993.

"We need to do something, whatever we can do, to help save a child's life," she said.

This is a campaign of the heart - parents trying to find purpose in a child's death.

But the answers will come down to raw numbers: population figures and money. Specialty pediatric care is very expensive in terms of staff and equipment. Are there enough pediatric patients in Hernando to justify that level of service? Who will pay?

Those are the hard, unsentimental questions hospital administrators must ask - questions that have no place in the hearts and minds of a grieving Spring Hill family.

Andrew Skerritt can be reached at 813 909-4602 or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 4602. His e-mail address is askerritt@sptimes.com.

[Last modified July 9, 2007, 23:22:59]