DALLAS — The family of the late Dallas Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson announced Wednesday that they have reached a "resolution of all matters" in their allegations against Baylor Scott & White over Johnson's medical care before her death.
“As we move forward and we are prepared to move forward, we want her impact to still be felt in this community," said Kirk Johnson, Eddie Bernice Johnson's son. "There are many organizations, initiatives that she had intended to respect, serve and contribute to."
The resolution involved the hospital company committing "to work directly with the Congresswoman's family," family attorney Les Weisbrod said in a statement, including establishing a nursing scholarship program in Johnson's honor, a move that Baylor Scott & White confirmed Wednesday.
“Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson was a friend and champion in the communities we serve — she is an inspiration to all," the Baylor Scott & White company statement said. "It has long been our priority to help her life’s work live on."
“Believe me. I couldn’t do this in good conscious if I couldn’t go to sleep at night and think that Eddie Bernice would be proud of me and what we did," said Weisbrod.
While the hospital company created a nursing scholarship program, Johnson's family has established the Eddie Bernice Johnson Lives Foundation, a nonprofit aimed at "championing the cases near to her heart during her life of public service," a statement from her family said.
“We are at peace," said Kirk Johnson. "We have to accept God’s will, but her initiatives, her interests will continue to live."
The agreements announced this week brought about an end to a dispute between the two sides.
Johnson's family in January accused Baylor Scott & White, one of the largest hospital systems in Texas, of "medical negligence" inside a rehab facility.
Her family and Weisbrod alleged that Johnson had an infection develop during a stay at the Baylor Scott & White Institute of Rehabilitation and that the infection led to her death on Dec. 31.
Baylor Scott & White officials declined to comment on the allegations, citing patient privacy.
The announcement from Johnson's family in January noted that while the facility carries the Baylor Scott & White name, it is owned and operated by Select Medical Holdings Corp. in Pennsylvania.
Select Medical also declined to comment on the allegations.
In the January announcement, Kirk Johnson said he and his family were "shocked about the careless disregard for my mother's care and wellbeing at Baylor Scott & White Institute for Rehabilitation."
Weisbrod called the ordeal "just a nightmare that you wouldn't want anyone to have to go through."
Eddie Bernice Johnson, who retired from Congress last year after 30 years of serving in the U.S. House, went to the rehab facility after having back surgery in September. She was later moved to a skilled nursing facility in October until she went into hospice care at home on Dec. 18, her family says.
The family's attorney said Johnson had to undergo additional surgeries receiving antibiotics, cleaning out the infection, removing hardware from the initial surgery and replacing it.
In reaching a resolution, Weisbrod said they avoided a medical malpractice lawsuit, which caps at $250,000 in Texas.
“These caps are unfair and inappropriate, and they discriminate,” said Weisbrod. “There’s actually an economic incentive to kill patients because if the patient dies, then the recovery is more limited than if a patient is maimed and needs medical care for the rest of their lives. Then, you can recover for the future costs of medical care.”
Weisbrod also said he believes lawyers are less likely to take on medical malpractice lawsuits because of the cap.
“The expenses that are involved and the attorney fees that are involved are prohibitive,” said Weisbrod.
He said the cap should at least reflect inflation and will work with local organizations and leaders to help get the policy changed.