Mary Hull’s husband died in the emergency room but no one signed the death certificate. That changed after she got KENS 5 involved.
SAN ANTONIO — Mary Hull still remembers the last day she saw her husband alive.
Richard Hull was in the upstairs of the family’s home on April 8. He would refer to his wife, Mary, as “Chris.”
“Chris! Something’s wrong,” she recalls him shouting out.
Mary Hull said her husband said his legs were going numb. She called EMS immediately and they were on the scene in seven minutes. She grabbed things around the home to prepare to go to the hospital and followed the ambulance.
Mary says Richard “coded” on the gurney before even arriving in a room.
“They were on their way to the treatment room. He coded. They worked on him for twenty five minutes,” Hull said.
Richard didn’t make it. The ER staff let Mary spend some time with him afterwards.
Hull spent the next two days getting over the shock of losing her partner. She then started figuring out how to make final arrangements for Richard.
The funeral home did their part in preparing a death certificate but they still needed a doctor to sign it.
Hull soon found out, no doctor at CHRISTUS Santa Rosa where Richard died, had signed the certificate. She started making calls and the funeral home director did the same thing. Still, three weeks later, the death certificate remained unsigned.
“We cannot perform any cremation. We cannot plan any memorial. I cannot access any of the funds that we had planned on,” Hull said.
Hull told KENS 5 the attending ER doctor couldn’t sign the certificate because he didn’t have access to a particular online system and the hospital suggested a primary care doctor do it. That doctor wasn’t able to do it either. Hull was stuck.
“It makes it impossible to move on. Everything I do everyday is based on having to wait for this certification,” Hull said.
Finally, Hull called KENS 5. After setting up a time to meet with KENS 5, Hull walked into the hospital to tell them she still didn’t have a resolution and she was going to the news.
“I did tell them I have an appointment with KENS 5. And that I need to see if there is a way this can be resolved,” she said.
Hull said the hospital then sent a patient advocate to meet with her. KENS 5 also communicated the issue to CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Hospital.
One day later, the death certificate was signed.
“It’s a huge relief. It felt like a weight had been lifted off of me. A weight that had just been getting heavier and heavier as the days went by,” Hull said.
KENS 5 reached out to CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Hospital for a response on this issue and asked if there is a way to prevent this in the future. CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Hospital sent the following response.
“CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Health System values each patient it is blessed to serve. Federal privacy laws and our core values prevent us from discussing patient information. We are confident in our processes as well as the appropriateness of our handling of these matters in a respectful manner that provides dignity and compassion to all involved. Our team and hospital leaders will continue to work tirelessly to provide our patients with the best health care experience as we fulfill our mission to extend the healing ministry of Jesus Christ.”
Hull is thankful the death certificate was finally signed. She said it didn’t happen until she got KENS 5 involved.
“KENS 5 absolutely helped resolve this. I have no doubt in my mind that if I didn’t use that route that it would still be an issue today,” Hull said.
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