Dr. Kurt Louis Openshaw, MD

I took my mother, who had stage 3B lung cancer for a PCP procedure at St. Joseph Hospital. The Dr. who helped us was Dr. Kurt L. Openshaw. He assisted us with the port study for my mother’s case. We’ve been to St. Joseph Hospital numerous times cause my mother has been dealing with her lung cancer for a little over a year now. Everyone we’ve ever dealt with and been helped by at the hospital has always been very sweet, caring, and has always gone above and beyond to make the visit less of a drag. Except for Dr. Kurt L. Openshaw. He was the most pompous, disrespectful, and heartless Dr. we’ve ever encountered. With COVID going on, I was not allowed to go in with her and had to wait in the lobby. My mother does not speak English well, and so naturally there’s a language barrier. Dr. Openshaw became so flustered and frustrated that he started acting rude and ended up making my mothers experience with her visit absolutely miserable. She came out of the room crying after she was done. She… explained to me after that he was raising his voice at her and speaking to her in a remedial manner. He was being rough with the bed that my mother was laying on, when adjusting the height and position of it. Not only showing his frustrations emotionally but physically too. When she told him that she was scared of needles when they were going to start the procedure, he looked at her and asked, “Why? Do you have brain cancer?”. Along with many other rude and inconsiderate comments made towards my mother, by the Dr., a nurse noticed my mother crying, and informed her manager. After my mother explained to me with what happened, I informed RN Daniel P. O’Neill, who is the manager, of the issue. RN O’Niell was very considerate and empathetic. He apologized and went to go speak with the Dr who helped my mother. When RN O’Niell came back to fill me in, he mentioned that the Dr. admitted that he was wrong. That he was flustered and frustrated and that is why he acted the way he did. He did not care to apologize though, and did not think it was that big of a deal. I can understand that my mother can be a little difficult to deal with because of the language barrier, but she tries her best. For a Dr. to be inconsiderate and have no compassion for their patients though, that’s just unacceptable. You are in the health care service to help people, not make them feel lower than they’re already feeling with whatever they may be dealing with.

Dr. Openshaw inserted a chest port for chemotherapy. He was quick and efficient.