A big congratulations to Marshall Whittlesey for being chosen as the winner of our 2023 Hospital Safety Awareness Scholarship! It was our pleasure getting to know Marshall and hearing about his ideas regarding Hospital Safety!

When patients go to the hospital, they trust that they’ll receive the best treatment and care they need to heal and recover. Hospitals should be safe places, but unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed that. Due to the crisis, emergency rooms and intensive care units in major cities are overwhelmed. The lack of ICU beds has transformed hospitals from recovery-safe havens into chaotic atmospheres. At no fault of the hospital staff, who are extremely low in numbers, the possibility of becoming infected with COVID-19 at hospitals is a genuine concern.

Additionally, hospitals’ leadership and management can be to blame in some cases for not following protocols. For example, hospitals are supposed to have floors designated for COVID patients. They are also supposed to have staff assigned to those floors. Suppose hospital management directs team members previously working on a COVID-19 floor to a different section of the building, which puts already vulnerable patients at risk of contracting COVID-19. Also, the pandemic has caused individuals to delay or avoid necessary medical care. The CDC said that an estimated 41% of U.S. adults reported postponing medical aid during the pandemic because of concerns about getting sick. These are severe issues regarding healthcare and hospital stays.

Lowenthal & Abrams, Injury Attorneys would like to raise awareness about medical malpractice and make hospitals safer. Unfortunately, due to medical malpractice and negligence, people are injured at hospitals every year. Medical errors are a significant cause of death in the United States, as at least one in 20 patients are affected by preventable patient harm. Through this scholarship, we would like to discuss what to do to improve conditions. Raising awareness is the first step in making hospitals safer for all of us. The medical malpractice lawyers at Lowenthal & Abrams, Injury Attorneys, want to bring attention to hospital safety – and discuss solutions to the issue.

That’s where you come in – we want to hear your ideas, and the student who has the best idea will receive a $1,000 check to put towards their education! Consider a time when you or a family member were in the hospital. What were some things you experienced, and did you have any ideas on improving the current system? We are offering a scholarship to the student who best answers the question: “What law or laws would you create to make hospitals safer?” Details follow.

• The scholarship is open to any current high school senior, college student, or graduate student who is a legal resident of the United States residing in one of the 50 states or the District of Columbia and who is enrolled in a two to a five-year post-secondary institution for the Fall 2023 semester.
• Employees of Lowenthal & Abrams, Injury Attorneys, their immediate families (parent, child, sibling, and spouse), and persons living in the same households as such individuals (whether related or not) are not eligible to participate in the competition.
• Candidates for this scholarship should have a minimum GPA of 3.0 or higher and good overall academic standing.

Application Requirements

• The candidate must submit a 500-1,000 word essay response to the prompt: What laws would you create to help make hospitals safer?
• The candidate must submit a professional resumé that lists their experience, both professional and academic.
• The candidate must submit a transcript from their current school. First-year college students, graduate students, or individuals who have recently transferred schools may submit an unofficial transcript from their current school, as well as the most recent official transcript from their prior school. High school students must also submit proof of acceptance to their college or university.