Katherine T. Ward, MD

My husband and I were so displeased with Dr. Katherine Ward's treatment with my dying mother that we complained at the time, and our internist took over my mother care at her nursing home at Berkley East here in Santa Monica in her final 3 months. My mother was very frail , and she should have been on a diet of soft food, but we could never get Dr. Ward to agree to that, even though she agreed that what we said about that made great sense she refused to do anything, clearly she wasn't interested. She was unwilling to put a note in my mother's chart or to talk to the nursing administrators, and additionally we didn't want my mother shaken to awaken her particularly in the last few months of her life by the nurses aids who didn't speak English. Not only did the aids shake my mother to wake her up for no important reason, but they would try to force food into my mother's mouth when she was asleep, and Dr. Ward refused to do anything about that either,… that was really ojectionable to my husband and myself. Dr. Ward refused to do anything, and she refused to put a note to that effect in my mother's chart or talk to the nursing administrators . We were so angry , and displeased with her care with my elderly mother, and her complete lack of interest when we talked to her about our concerns, she refused to do anything, not only was that disgraceful but we were paying a huge amount for my mother's care at Berkeley East, and what she was doing, wasn't helpful. We were very angry that she wouldn't help us at all, or talk to the nursing administrator, clearly she didn't care. We immediately complained to Berkley East , the Hospice Group, and we mentioned this to our internist, and our internist immediately offered to take on my mother's care at her nursing home in her last 3 months. We got rid of Dr. Ward as soon as we talked to Dr Ward, and she had a really snotty attitude when we expressed that we didn't want my mother shaken to awaken her by the support staff, food forced into her mouth, and not given soft food. Not only did she refuse to do anything, but she acted as though we were absurd to make a fuss, and that there was nothing she could do about. A few days later we attended a small meeting at my mother's nursing home, and people were indeed interested about our complaints, and Immediately my mother was put on soft food, which she should have been on for quite some time before that but Dr. Ward was totally oblivious to that, and the support staff were forbidden to shake her to wake her up and/ or to try to force feed her, with my mother violently protesting. If you have a choice use another doctor for your elderly parents and family members in assisted care or nursing homes.