Earlier this week, Texas mourned the loss of civil rights icon and political trailblazer, former Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson. But her passing has been made all the more tragic with this latest allegation from her family.
Her family is alleging that Johnson died from an infection caused by medical neglect at the Baylor Institute of Rehabilitation in Fort Worth, Texas. Her son Kirk Johnson recounted a particularly chilling scene from one visit with his mother — who they allege was left to lie in her feces and urine.
Her condition was “deplorable,” said Kirk at a press conference. “She was being unattended to; she was screaming out in pain and for help.”
According to her family, the former congresswoman first sought care for her back and had a successful back surgery in early September. The expectation was that she would spend a week or two at the rehabilitation center, “she was expected to go home and be fine,” said the family’s attorney. “Instead, she got this infection at the Baylor Rehabilitation because they didn’t protect her wound properly and because they left her in her own feces unattended.”
The attorney noted that cultures of her wound showed feces in the infection — which they allege caused her to die in terrible pain.
“Congresswoman Johnson was a longtime friend and champion in the communities we serve—she is an inspiration to all. We are committed to working directly with the Congresswoman’s family members and their counsel. Out of respect for patient privacy, we must limit our comments,” wrote Baylor Scott & White Health in a statement to The Root.
Elderly Black Americans not being cared for at nursing homes and hospitals is sadly nothing new. Black Americans are less likely to live in clean nursing homes and more likely to experience elder abuse.
But part of what makes these allegations particularly heartbreaking is that Congresswoman Johnson was the first nurse elected to Congress. “It’s ironic for a registered nurse who is a member of the Academy of Nurses to be treated that way,” said her son, Kirk.
“She had no reason to not have been here,” he added. “If she had gotten proper care at that facility, she would have been here.”
Holding back tears, her son told reporters that the last time he was able to have a conversation with his mother was on Christmas day. “She thought she wouldn’t live three weeks,” he said as tears slipped down his cheek, “and she didn’t.”