Dr. Ashley Secrest Sutherland, MD

I brought my husband to the ED and Dr. Sutherland was the attending doctor. He was in severe opiate withdrawal and was seeking some help to reduce his symptoms. After we explained why we there, Dr. Sutherlan spent 3 minutes with him and walked away while my husband was desperately asking for help with his symptoms. She made us feel discriminated against and judged by the way she treated my husband. A moment later, a nurse showed up and said Dr. Sutherland prescribed blood pressure and nausea medication and told my husband he was being discharged. No resources for help with substance use, no compassionate care, and no other options were discussed with us in terms of giving him some fluids or managing his extreme restlessness, trouble sleeping, and anxiety. I had to ask for resources and ask to talk to her again since she hurried out of the room so fast we didn't get to ask any questions or explore options not just to manage the symptoms but to get help with substance use. The most… horrible experience of this all is that a police officer came in the room a few times in our room a few times when the nurse or doctor came in and we were given no explanation. Completely treated us like criminals. That was also a violation of my husband's HIPAA rights. My husband was disclosing some deeply personal and health issues and it felt so hurtful and inhumane we were treated this way. Our takeaway from the experience with Dr. Sutherland that there needs to be more education in the medical community to help break the stigma and discrimination for persons dealing with substance use disorders. There also needs to be more dignity and compassion when treating people who suffer from substance use. Dr. Sutherland, we are extremely disappointed at how you treated and cared for my husband. It is not okay and I hope you can do better next with people who need help with this.