According to the news report, the patient Ralph Skewes was rushed to the hospital after displaying fatigue, confusion and incoherence. He was cared for by Joseph Zalocha, MD, a hospitalist at Northside.
The morning after Mr. Skewes’ admission to Northside, Dr. Zalocha documented in a report that an MRI would be conducted, but records show no such testing was ever done, according to the news report. What’s more, Abraham Awwad, MD, Mr. Skewes’ nephrologist, ordered Dr. Zalocha to call in additional specialists for a more thorough examination of Mr. Skewes’ condition. However, the specialists were never requested until it was too late.
By his fourth night at the hospital, Mr. Skewes went into cardiac arrest and then died on the eleventh day. Dr. Zalocha is not speaking publicly on the matter. The hospital is defending him but will not disclose any details about that patient’s death due to patient confidentiality.
Dr. Awwad said his complaint regarding Dr. Zalocha is not the first one filed with state regulators concerning Northside providers. According to the news report, Dr. Awward has recently filed nearly a dozen complaints against other providers, claiming they failed to follow his orders on various medications or tests.
Read the news report about Dr. Joseph Zalocha.
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