Sorrel's story

The conference began in an intimately personal way, with Sorrel King telling the story of her daughter’s death due to medical errors. “First, I wanted to stick it to Hopkins. I wanted everybody in the hospital to know. I did it out of anger and grief. Then it became destructive, and I didn’t want to talk about it any more.” But, then things evolved, and she now tells the story in the hope of spreading the message that it was a series of simple errors that could have been avoided. She hears from lots of doctors and nurses who thank her for telling the story. She says, “I do it now because it is making a difference.”

The King’s took the financial settlement from Hopkins to create the Josie King Foundation to start and enhance programs to "prevent others from dying or being harmed by medical errors. By uniting healthcare providers and consumers, and funding innovative safety programs, we hope to create a culture of patient safety, together."

The latest project is the Care Journal, a simple way for families to keep track of the progress of patient care for their loved ones in a hospital. Check it out here.