WASHINGTON, D.C. — Former state Senator David Grubb says his daughter’s short life can help save many lives with a measure soon to be introduced in Congress called “Jessie’s Law.”
Grubb and his wife appeared with U.S. Senators Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito for a news conference Wednesday afternoon on Capitol Hill to talk about the proposal that will open lines of communication between health care professionals who are treating those who have suffered from opioid addiction.
Jessica Grubb, 30, a Charleston native, died in March following an operation in Michigan related to a running injury. She was a recovering addict. She had been clean for six months. Most of her doctors knew not to give her pain pills in connection with the surgery but the discharging doctor didn’t notice the information buried in her medical chart. He prescribed 50 oxycodone pills. She was dead the next day.
Her parents are still dealing with the tragedy and are hopeful Congress will help make sure a similar circumstance doesn’t happen.
“Jessie’s life can have meaning,” David Grubb said Wednesday. “She can prevent future deaths by simply making this information available to all medical professionals who are prescribing or involved in the treatment of that individual.”
Manchin, who is leading the efforts on the bill, said it would work through current patient privacy laws by increasing the number of people who can provide consent for a patient’s substance abuse records to be disclosed. Opioid addiction problems would also be prominently displayed in a patient’s records if the patient gives consent.
“What we’re doing is saving a life. We’re protecting that life and that life wants to be protected. The family wants to be involved. The patient wants to be involved. So we’re not stepping on anybody’s privacy laws whatsoever,” Manchin said.
The information about Jessie’s problems should have been available to everyone in the hospital, Capito said.
“A lot of this is about communication and getting over those privacy records that you see. We’ve built up all these silos on our health privacy records but sometimes they work against you. I think in this case that is what happened here,” Capito said.
David Grubb said he believes his daughter would think the effort was “cool.”
“I think she would think that this was wonderful that we could help people,” her father said.
Manchin said the bill should be fast-tracked.