Sorrel King

Sorrel King is an author, patient safety advocate, and president/co-founder of the Josie King Foundation. Her 18-month old daughter, Josie, died at Johns Hopkins Bayview Hospital of dehydration due to medical error after being hospitalized for second-degree burns. Following a financial settlement from Johns Hopkins, Sorrel King started the Josie King Foundation and wrote a novel about her experience entitled Josie's Story: A Mother's Inspiring Crusade to Make Medical Care Safe.

Biography Sorrel King had four children: Jack, Eva, Relly, and Josie. She attended the University of Colorado where she met her husband and father of her children, Tony. The family originally lived in Richmond, Virginia before moving to Baltimore County for her husband's job as a stock-trader at Wachovia Securities. Sorrel King originally worked as a designer. She successfully started a women's clothing line that was sold at Barney's and Saks Fifth Avenue, among others.

Backstory On January 23, 2001, Josie King (18 months old) suffered an accident in a hot bath she accidentally drew for herself, which resulted in second-degree burns on 60% of her body. Sorrel King called an ambulance that took her to Johns Hopkins Hospital Bayview Center. Her daughter was treated with skin grafts, intravenous fluids, and pain medications. Her daughter improved rapidly and was moved to the Intermediate Care Unit. Despite revival efforts, Josie King passed away that evening of February 22, 2001.

An investigation from the hospital concluded that Josie King's cardiac arrest was caused by severe dehydration and that the warning signs—diarrhea, extreme thirst, weight loss, etc. -- had not been taken into account in Josie's case.

Impact

Josie King Foundation Johns Hopkins Hospital accepted full responsibility for the death of Josie King and offered the family a financial settlement. Dr. Peter J. Pronovost, a Johns Hopkins physician whose father had died due to medical errors, allied with Sorrel King and helped her establish her foundation as well as implement the Josie King Patient Safety program at Johns Hopkins. Following this speech, and with support from the foundation, Condition H was implemented at UPMC-Shadyside Hospital. Condition H, where the H stands for help, is an established protocol that will enable patients, their families, or their visitors to initiate a rapid response call if there is perceived danger to the patient's health. This protocol was then implemented in hospitals throughout the nation.

Novel Josie's Story: A Mother's Inspiring Crusade to Make Medical Care Safe is an autobiographical novel written by Sorrel King published by Grove Atlantic in 2009. Her novel was named one of the Best Health Books of 2009 by the Wall Street Journal,

Josie King Act In 2004, Representative Patrick J. Kennedy introduced the Josie King Act (also referred to as the Quality, Efficiency, Standards and Technology for Health Care Transformation Act of 2004, or the QUEST Act), which was intended to improve sharing and distribution of secure medical information between healthcare providers and patients on a national level. The bill died without receiving a vote in the 108th Congress.

Media appearances Sorrel King made appearances on Good Morning America and NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw as well as in an article entitled “Fixing Hospitals in 2005.” for Forbes magazine.