Beth Keegstra
Beth Keegstra
Video of the incident
Beth Keegstra is a emergency room physician based out of the San Francisco Bay Area. In June 2018, Keegsta was caught on video mocking a patient suffering from an anxiety attack while under her care at the El Camino Hospital in Los Gatos, California. [1]
Biography
Personal Life
Photo of Beth Keegstra
Beth Keegstra resides in Half Moon Bay, California and is the mother of a daughter. On October 10, 2014 Keegstra married Debra Hall.
Education
Beth Keegstra graduated from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan with a bachelor's degree in Biology and Chemistry. She then graduated from the Chicago Medical School with a Doctor of Medicine (MD).
Career
Beth Keegstra has worked as an emergency room physician under Vituity a physician practice group formerly known as California Emergency Physicians since 1997. Keegstra has worked at El Camino Hospital in Los Gatos, California since 2010 while a partner with Vituity.
On Friday, June 15, 2018, El Camino Hospital permanently removed Beth Keegstra from their list of approved physicians assigned to provide emergency care at their hospitals.
In The Media
On Monday, June 11, 2018 Beth Keegstra was caught on video mocking a patient on video under her care at El Camino Hospital in Los Gatos, California. [1]
The patient, 20-year-old Samuel Bardwell, was hospitalized after suffering an anxiety attack following a basketball practice.
Bardwell's father Donald told the The San Francisco Chronicle (SFGATE) that his son has a history of anxiety attacks, and that he takes Klonopin, a sedative that can treat seizures, panic disorder, and anxiety. [1]
However, Samuel had not taken any Klonipin in the days leading up to the anxiety attack.
"He had a prescription waiting for him at the pharmacy but couldn't pick it up, he's a student and he works," said Bardwell.
"We didn't know what the consequence of not taking the meds would be."
Bardwell brought his son to the emergency room, where they encountered Dr. Beth Keegstra, who was tasked with treating Samuel. "She never first came in and introduced herself," Bardwell said. "She never said her name, she never asked for his name, she never really examined him." [1]
Bardwell said that Keegstra accused them of coming in for drugs, and tried to get them to leave.
"She said, 'I know why you people are here, you people who come here for drugs,' and I said 'What do you mean you people?'" Bardwell said.
"She was rambling on so angrily that's why I pulled out my phone."
Bardwell uploaded the video on Facebook where it received over 4.8 million views in less than a week.
In the video, Donald Bardwell can be heard telling Keegstra that he saw his son "go in and out of consciousness." Keegstra responds by saying that Samuel is "completely alert and awake right now," and tells the patient that he is "the least sick of all the people that are here." [1]
Later in the video, Samuel tells Keegstra that he "could not inhale," causing Keegstra to laugh and proclaim, "He can't inhale, wow!
He must be dead!"[1]
Bardwell said Keegstra brought a security guard in with her when she first examined his son."I guess she was so angry and assumed he was a druggie and had drugs in his system, she thought she could talk to us any which way we wanted," Bardwell said. [1]