Ms. Buttress worked as a physical therapist at Freeman Hospital in Joplin, Missouri, from 2005 to 2007. From 2007 to 2012, she worked for Rehab Visions (based out of Omaha, Nebraska). Rehab Visions had a contract with Craig General Hospital to provide physical therapy services. From 2012 to 2013, she went back to work as physical therapist at Freeman Hospital in Joplin. Beginning in 2013, she started working for Northeast Oklahoma Orthopedics and Rehabilitation, Inc. as a physical therapist. They have a contract with Craig General …show more content…
Ms. Groh came in and completed her exercises and stretches. As was typical, near the end of the treatment Ms. Buttress told Ms. Groh it was time for hot pack therapy. The therapy is performed by placing the patient on a table face-up, lying on their back on a hotpad. The patient’s legs are positioned with knees bent over a large ball. The particular table Ms. Groh was on is called a high/low table. She believes Ms. Groh had received therapy on this table before. There are other tables that perform the same type of function, but they are not high/low type tables. They are more stationary and do not raise and …show more content…
Groh complained of hip pain, and she had a bump on her forehead. Ms. Groh’s husband was in a nearby waiting room, so Ms. Buttress told him what had happened. She then asked Ms. Groh if she wanted to see a doctor who was officed in the other end of the clinic, or a nurse practitioner. Ms. Groh declined, advising that she was going to see her primary care physician later that same day.
At about this same time, Ms. Buttress went to the medical side of the department to see if the x-ray technician was present that day. It was her idea that Ms. Groh might consider having an x-ray taken. The x-ray tech was not there on that particular day.
Ms. Buttress began escorting Ms. Groh out of the room toward her car. Ms. Groh had gone 20–25 feet and kept complaining of hip pain. Ms. Buttress obtained a wheelchair to help transport Ms. Groh to her car. While en route, Ms. Buttress once again asked Ms. Groh if she needed a medical ambulance. Ms. Groh declined and reiterated that she was going to see her PCP later that