50-year-old David W. Rogers was being transferred to Ben Taub Hospital on July 30, 2019 when he went missing

According to Texas EquuSearch, Rogers was allegedly never signed into Ben Taub

Two patients mysteriously died in the ER waiting room of Benn Taub in April and July

A 50-year-old man has gone missing possibly from Ben Taub Hospital in Houston, Texas. On Thursday, Texas EquuSearch announced that Donald W. Rogers had gone missing over a month ago.

David W Rogers Missing

The story behind Rogers disappearance is concerning and raises more questions than answers. On July 30, 2019, Rogers was transferred from Mimi’s Home of Blessings in Missouri City, Texas, to Ben Taub Hospital due to an infection. Rogers cannot walk or move around due to a stroke and has a feeding tube attached to him.

According to Texas EquuSearch, Rogers was never admitted at Ben Taub Hospital. There is not much more to the story at this time, which is what make the situation alarming. When you consider two recent deaths at Ben Taub, it only raises more concern.

66-Year-Old Man In Critical Condition Dies In Ben Taub Restroom

In April the hospital lost track of an ER patient hours after lab tests determined he was in critical condition. The patient was eventually found dead in the restroom. A report on the death was released in July by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The facility failed to provide emergency center (staff) training on timely monitoring of patients and reporting of critical laboratory values. This finding puts all patients in the facility’s emergency center, health and safety at risk. CMS Report

The 66-year-old man died of cardiac arrest on April 12. After the patient was found repeated CPR efforts were found to be unsuccessful. The death forced the government to use more oversight for the Harris Health System. The man’s death was first revealed in a June 27 email to staff by George Masi according to the Houston Chronicle.

Masi said Harris Health’s leadership “takes this matter very seriously” and is “fully committed and working toward a speedy resolution.” However, Harris Health did not report the death to CMS. CMS learned of the death via a complaint. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission investigated the complaint in the first week of June.

Following the investigation, CMS removed Ben Taub’s “deemed status.” According to ASHE, “health care organizations that want to participate in and receive payment from the Medicare or Medicaid programs must be certified as complying with the Conditions of Participation (CoPs), or standards, set forth in federal regulations.”

A Second Death In A Ben Taub Restroom

Shortly after news broke of the first death it was a second patient died at Ben Taub on July 16. Like the death of the 66-year-old man, this patient was found unresponsive in a waiting room restroom. “Incidents like this should never happen,” Masi said in a statement about the second death. Harris Health reported the death to Texas Health and Human Services Commission and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on July 19.

According to Leapfrog Hospital Safety, Ben Taub has a grade of C. The grade means patients are twice as likely to die from an error when compared to an A grade hospital. Leapfrog shows Ben Taub has a higher chance of receiving an infection, problems during surgery, fails at practicing to prevent errors, general safety problems, and issues with staff.

In August Harris Health came under federal scrutiny following the deaths. On August 13 employees were informed COO Dr. Ericka Brown had “separated from the service” but Harris Health declined to say if her leaving was related to the two recent deaths. Both Ben Taub and Harris Health were still under state and federal authority due to the death of the 66-year-old man in April when Brown left.