Did the State of Tennessee medically abandon James Eric Sullivan? Glenda Sullivan is the mother of James Eric Sullivan. Blogs report that Glenda Sullivan was at work when she received a call from the nursing company that provides nursing care to her son. Allegedly, the nursing company informed her that Eric was losing his TennCare coverage and the nurses would not be providing care until the matter is resolved. News stories report Glenda received a one-day notice and she was advised by the company that no nurses would be arriving to care for him in the morning. She had to take medical leave from work. She has other children to support and now she is responsible for Eric’s 24 hour care after the State of Tennessee abandoned her. This is an impossible task for one person to do.
By way of history, James Eric Sullivan is a victim and a survivor of Shaken Baby Syndrome. He suffered severe neurological impairment and requires 24 hour care after he was severly abused in day care at the age of 13 months-old. He is now totally dependent on caregivers for all his needs. According to news blogs, the State of Tennessee withdrew care on him and his family abruptly.
If an individual healthcare provider had done this act of withdrawing care, it would be illegal and considered medical abandonment. The state board of licensure, in any state, can withdraw the professional licensure of an individual healthcare provider for the same act of abandonment. A healthcare provider can be charged with a crime for abandoment, an act that endangers patients. What the State of Tennessee did to this family is morally and ethically wrong. The individuals involved in the decision to abruptly withdraw care to Eric Sullivan are responsible and answerable to the people of the State of Tennessee. The financial decision to stop providing care to James Eric Sullivan without provision of care during the interim is abandonment and endangerment.