Son speaks on settlement in Sisters woman’s wrongful death

Fifteen months after Loretta Macpherson, 65, died at St. Charles Bend from a medication error, a settlement of an undisclosed amount has been reached.

But as son Mark Macpherson said Wednesday, it will not bring back his mother.

“I think I will always feel remorse, bringing my mother to that hospital,” Mark told NewsChannel 21.

He said the settlement has started the healing process for him and his brother, Pete.

“I think it’s given me closure, in the sense of we’re moving on,” Mark said.

Loretta Macpherson died in December 2014 after she received a paralyzing medication instead of an anti-seizure medication.

“There were several failures along the way, at many different levels of the hospital,” said the family’s lawyer, Jennifer Coughlin.

Mark and his brother decided against a lawsuit to avoid a lengthy legal process.

“It could have been years before we ever saw a judge,” Mark said.

Coughlin said she was shocked by the scale of mistakes made by the hospital.

“This case will stay in my thoughts for a very, very long time,” Coughlin said.

St. Charles President and CEO Joe Sluka said in a statement emailed to NewsChannel 21: “”All of us at St. Charles are deeply sorry for the loss of life that resulted from a medication error and a breakdown in our processes.”

Now the hospital has made changes in its procedures, including a redesign of the pharmacy, where the fatal error originated from, and a change in its medication labeling process.

“That’s been mine and my brother’s goal the entire time,” Mark said. “To see some remedial changes, to assure us that something like this can never happen to anyone else.”

As part of the settlement, the hospital also has agreed to put up a bench in Loretta Macpherson’s honor.

But Mark said he does not know yet if he is going to visit St. Charles any time soon.

“I have forgiven the hospital, and I have forgiven the people who did this — but that doesn’t mean I will ever forget what they did,” Mark said.

Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel told NewsChannel 21 the criminal investigation in the case is ongoing.

Hummel said he is investigating the hospital as a whole, instead of any individual employees. He said the investigation should be complete within a month or two.