Latest news with #Farwell
Newsweek
6 days ago
- Health
- Newsweek
Mom Handed $100k Hospital Bill For Taking Baby to ER Sparks Fury
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A California mother said she received more than $100,000 in transport bills after her 6-month-old son, who had severe burns, required emergency services treatment, according to local news outlet ABC 7. The charges included a nearly $90,000 air-ambulance flight, lasting around 15 minutes, and a roughly $10,200 ambulance ride of approximately 0.3 miles between the helipad and the hospital entrance. The bills have since been waived, almost three years later, after ABC 7 On Your Side reached out to the relevant parties after the mother got in touch. Why It Matters The family's experience highlights the broader issue of high medical costs in the country—and how insurance companies do not always shield patients from very large transport and hospital charges, prompting further outrage at insurance companies more widely. California ranked top three for having the highest costs for on ground ambulance bills in 2022, according to the nonprofit health organization FAIR health, behind Utah and Wyoming. Meanwhile, the state, along with Minnesota, Illinois, and New Jersey, had employer-sponsored insurance prices for on ground ambulance bills that were more than three times the Medicare reimbursement rate, according to the Health Care Cost Institute. Since the incident, state-level protections have evolved as California has enacted AB 716 to limit surprise billing for ground ambulance services and to require insured patients to be charged in-network rates in many emergency scenarios. File photo: A Sacramento Fire Department Ambulance races to the scene of an emergency. File photo: A Sacramento Fire Department Ambulance races to the scene of an emergency. MattGush/Getty Images What To Know Antioch resident Jessica Farwell said her 6-month-old son, Brody, suffered second-degree burns in October 2022 after a rice cooker fell from a counter. She said Sutter Antioch Emergency Room staff treated Brody with fentanyl for the pain, and told her the hospital lacked a burn unit, but that no ground ambulances were available for multiple hours. Farwell said that doctors told her she had to transfer Brody to Shriners Children's Hospital in Sacramento, and an air transfer was arranged. She had asked to drive, which would have been a one hour 20 minute journey, but the doctors allegedly refused, per the ABC News report. Per the outlet, Farwell said she was told she would not get billed for the journey because it was being requested by the hospital. Once at the hospital in Sacramento, Brody's second-degree burns were treated and he was discharged the next day. It was a few months later when the bill for more than $100,000 in transport costs came through the mail, as well as additional waiting fees. Newsweek was unable to contact Farwell for comment or independently verify the bill. "I couldn't believe my eyes!" Farwell told ABC 7. "You look at the bills, and it's absolutely enraging—we got hit for a $600 waiting fee... there's a fee for it being a nighttime service... there's just every single fee you can think of!" Farwell told ABC News that her insurer covered less than half the helicopter charge and only a portion of the ambulance fee, leaving her to cover $57,929.80 for the flight and $7,327 for the ambulance. She said she spent almost three years trying to contact the hospital, the ambulance company, and her insurance to get the issue sorted but always got the "runaround." Farwell said that she started Googling for help when she started getting constant calls from collection companies, and ABC's 7 On Your Side came up, prompting her to get in touch. The local news outlet then reached out to the parties involved and got the bills waived in a few days, nearly three years after the incident. Social media users have taken to X to share their shock at Farwell's experience, with political commentator Colin Rugg, who has more than 1.8 million followers on the platform, writing the incident was "absolutely insane," while others deemed it "unbelievable." What People Are Saying Jessica Farwell, Antioch resident and mother of Brody, told ABC7: "They called and said it's done, we will never bill you again. They almost sounded apologetic. I hung up and told my husband. We just couldn't believe it! All it took was filling out a form on your guys' website. It's a miracle! "It just blows my mind I've been working on this for three years... and did not chip away at it... And within a couple of days you had people within the insurance company and the hospital actually trying to help! I have laid my heart out to these people for three years but then you guys get involved and they're scrambling—they're absolutely scrambling." Carmen Balber, executive director, Consumer Watchdog, told ABC7: "I understand ambulances are high-tech machinery. They are staffed by medical personnel who have specialized degrees. But at the end of the day, a 0.3-mile drive should never cost a patient $10,000!" Pro Transport-1, the ambulance company, said in a statement to ABC7: "While we feel this issue still 100 percent lies with the insurance company simply deciding to pass part of the bill to the patient, we will accept their partial payment and no longer seek the remaining balance of the bill for our services." John Simley, communications director for Blue Cross Blue Shield, told ABC7 in a statement: "We don't comment publicly on specific member issues. We are committed to increasing access to safe, appropriate, and effective health care based on the best available information and research, and in accordance with a member's benefit plan." What Happens Next The bills have now been waived after ABC 7 reached out to the relevant parties.
Hamilton Spectator
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Hamilton Spectator
21st annual Bechthold Childhood Cancer BBQ raises more than $31,000 so far
There isn't much in this world that could convince 700 people to sit outside in the summer sun for a few hours on one of the hottest days of the summer, made hotter by several very active, nearby barbecues. Yet that's just what the 700 people who travelled to Petersburg to support Warren Bechthold, his family and their 21 annual childhood cancer barbecue fundraiser did, helping to raise $31,615.30 through donations and the purchase of hot dogs, sausages, hamburgers, cheeseburgers, soft drinks and ice cream from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. July 10. 'We are extremely grateful for all the support of the community and businesses that made this 21st annual Childhood Cancer BBQ event a success,' Bechthold said after the event was over and the money raised was tallied. 'Also, for the support of family and friends that volunteered at the barbecue. Without them this event could not happen. 'With a few weeks to go yet in July, it would be really fantastic if we can meet last year's total of $35,000 because we know every dollar will go somewhere to help a child, a family or to improve research and treatment. Thank you again to a very giving community.' Thanks to the support of local businesses and organizations like Stemmler's Meats, Krug's Meat Market, Ross and Lindsay's No Frills Cambridge, the Optimist Club of New Hamburg, M&G Portables, Herrle's Country Farm Market, Costco and Sunbelt Rentals, the event went off without a hitch, almost as if the Bechtholds have been organizing it for more than two decades. The event even saw a few special guests including Wilmot Mayor Natasha Salonen, Region of Waterloo Paramedic Services Chief John Riches and Mike Farwell, host of The Mike Farwell Show on 570 NewsRadio Kitchener. Farwell, who helps promote the Bechthold Childhood Cancer BBQ on his show, stuck around to help man the grills as part of his Farwell4Hire initiative, through which he accepts donations in support of cystic fibrosis research in exchange for doing odd jobs. 'When Warren Bechthold asks, you just say, 'Yes, sir,' and, 'When do you want me there?' ' Farwell said. 'That's kind of the way it works. He's got such a great way of bringing people together and he's been doing this for so long, he's got such passion for it, it's really difficult to pass up an opportunity to be a part of it somehow. ' … Farwell4Hire says, 'You make a donation to cystic fibrosis, I show up,' and Warren made a very generous donation to my campaign. I would have come here anyway – don't tell him that – but heck, I wasn't going to resist the opportunity for the extra money for my charity and to support Warren's great efforts here.' But the big winners of the day were, of course, the organizations the barbecue supports – Scotland's Yard (Waterloo Regional Health Network), the Children's Health Foundation (London) and the Walk to Conquer Cancer (Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto). 'I'm very proud and lucky to be Scotland's dad; she's doing very well now and living a very healthy life,' said Brian Santos, who spoke at the barbecue on behalf of the Waterloo Regional Health Network and Scotland's Yard. 'She is five, but for basically half her life, she was fighting cancer. She was on treatment for two years and we spent a year of back and forth, back and forth to Hamilton. As it stands in our region, if you have a child that's fighting cancer or another major illness, they have to travel outside of our community to get the lifesaving treatment and care they need. 'What that means is travelling to Hamilton, London or Toronto. So, the goal of Scotland's Yard is simple; just to bring care closer to home so that any child that needs help can get the help they need at home and don't have to travel. … It would be so much easier to get care at St. Mary's (General Hospital) or Grand River (Hospital), or hopefully soon at the new hospital that will be built. … How we're going to get there is through community and through community fundraisers like this. … I'm past the point of being proud; I'm inspired by (the Bechthold family) and the work you've done. … You fill a lot of stomachs with great food and you fill a lot of hearts in terms of raising money for our community.' One hundred per cent of the proceeds raised through this event and online at until the end of July go directly to support the above organizations. In its first 20 years, the Bechthold Childhood Cancer BBQ raised more than $318,000 in support of cancer care and research. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
National Post
16-07-2025
- Business
- National Post
Satellos Appoints Dr. Wildon Farwell as Chief Medical Officer
Article content TORONTO — Satellos Bioscience Inc. (TSX: MSCL, OTCQB: MSCLF) (' Satellos ' or the ' Company '), a biotech company developing new small molecule therapeutic approaches to improve the treatment of muscle diseases, today announced the appointment of Wildon Farwell, M.D., MPH, as chief medical officer ('CMO'). Dr. Farwell joins Satellos from Dyne Therapeutics (Nasdaq: DYN), where he most recently served as CMO and medical advisor. Article content 'We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Farwell as our CMO,' said Frank Gleeson, Satellos co-founder and CEO. 'He brings deep expertise in global clinical development — particularly in neuromuscular and rare diseases — and a strong track record of successfully advancing novel therapies through regulatory approval. His experience will be invaluable as we move SAT-3247 into a global, randomized, placebo-controlled Phase 2 clinical trial in children living with DMD, with the goal of delivering a transformative treatment.' Article content At Dyne, Dr. Farwell built the development organization, led the protocol development and regulatory submissions for their Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) programs, oversaw the conduct of multiple potentially registrational clinical studies, and contributed to several successful capital raises. Before joining Dyne, he spent a decade at Biogen in increasing leadership roles, including vice president of Late-Stage Clinical Development and global medical head of Neuromuscular Diseases. During his time at Biogen, Dr. Farwell led the development and lifecycle management of SPINRAZA®, the first approved treatment for spinal muscular atrophy. He also initiated late-stage development of QALSODY®, an investigational therapy for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Dr. Farwell also led biomarker development and pharmacovigilance for therapies across multiple indications. Prior to moving into industry, Dr. Farwell served as an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and was a physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital and the VA Boston Healthcare System. He earned his medical degree from the University of Missouri School of Medicine and holds a Master of Public Health in clinical effectiveness from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Article content 'I'm honored to join Satellos at such a pivotal point in its growth,' said Dr. Farwell. 'Throughout my career, I've been fortunate to lead the development of several therapies that have had profound impacts on the lives of specific populations of people with serious neuromuscular diseases. Now, working to advance SAT-3247 and support Satellos' novel approach to muscle regeneration represents a natural and meaningful next chapter. I look forward to working with the team to drive clinical progress and bring forward a treatment that may have a profound impact across a broad population of people living with Duchenne and other serious muscle diseases.' Article content Dr. Farwell succeeds Jordan Dubow, MD, who has served as Satellos' part-time CMO since January 2024. Dr. Dubow will continue to serve as a consultant to Satellos and chair of its Clinical Advisory Board. Article content About Satellos Bioscience Inc. Article content Satellos is a clinical-stage drug development company focused on restoring natural muscle repair and regeneration in degenerative muscle diseases. Through its research, Satellos has developed SAT-3247, a first-of-its-kind, orally administered small molecule drug designed to address deficits in muscle repair and regeneration. SAT-3247 targets AAK1, a key protein that Satellos has identified as capable of replacing the signal normally provided by dystrophin in muscle stem cells to effect repair and regeneration. By restoring this missing dystrophin signal in DMD, SAT-3247 enables muscle stem cells to divide properly and more efficiently, promoting natural muscle repair and regeneration. SAT-3247 is currently in clinical development as a potential disease-modifying treatment initially for DMD. Satellos also is leveraging its proprietary discovery platform MyoReGenX™ to identify additional muscle diseases or injury conditions where restoring muscle repair and regeneration may have therapeutic benefit and represent future clinical development opportunities. For more information, visit Article content This press release includes forward-looking information or forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws regarding Satellos and its business, which may include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the potential for SAT-3247 to represent a disease modifying approach to the therapeutic treatment of people living with Duchenne; anticipated benefits to patients from a small molecule treatment for Duchenne; the advancement SAT-3247 through clinical trials; the pharmacodynamic properties and mechanism-of-action of SAT-3247; the potential of our approach in other degenerative muscle diseases; its/their prospective impact on Duchenne patients, patients with other degenerative muscle disease or muscle injury or trauma, and on muscle regeneration generally; and Satellos' technologies and drug development plans. All statements that are, or information which is, not historical facts, including without limitation, statements regarding future estimates, plans, programs, forecasts, projections, objectives, assumptions, expectations or beliefs of future performance, occurrences or developments, are 'forward-looking information or statements.' Often but not always, forward-looking information or statements can be identified by the use of words such as 'shall', 'intends', 'believe', 'plan', 'expect', 'intend', 'estimate', 'anticipate', 'potential', 'prospective' , 'assert' or any variations (including negative or plural variations) of such words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events or results 'may', 'might', 'can', 'could', 'would' or 'will' be taken, occur, lead to, result in, or, be achieved. Such statements are based on the current expectations and views of future events of the management of the Company. They are based on assumptions and subject to risks and uncertainties. Although management believes that the assumptions underlying these statements are reasonable, they may prove to be incorrect. The forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this release, may not occur and could differ materially as a result of known and unknown risk factors and uncertainties affecting the Company, including, without limitation, risks relating to the pharmaceutical and bioscience industry (including the risks associated with preclinical and clinical trials and regulatory approvals), and the research and development of therapeutics, the results of preclinical and clinical trials, general market conditions and equity markets, economic factors and management's ability to manage and to operate the business of the Company generally, including inflation and the costs of operating a biopharma business, and those risks listed in the 'Risk Factors' section of Satellos' Annual Information Form dated March 26, 2025 (which is located on Satellos' profile at Although Satellos has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements or information. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Except as required by applicable securities laws, forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and Satellos does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether resulting from new information, future events, or otherwise. Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content Contacts Article content Investors: Article content Liz Williams, CFO, Article content Article content
Boston Globe
24-06-2025
- Boston Globe
Matthew Farwell seeks to add death penalty expert to defense team
Stevens is a senior capital resource counsel at the Federal Capital Trial Project, which provides assistance to defendants in death penalty cases. Related : She was a part of the team that represented Members of Dylan Roof's defense team, including Kimberly C. Stevens, far left. Lawyers for Matthew Farwell have sought to have Stevens, who has expertise in death penalty cases, on their team. AP Photo/Chuck Burton Advertisement Federal prosecutors have charged Farwell, 39, with killing a witness in relation to the death of Birchmore, whose body was found in her Canton apartment on Feb. 4, 2021. The crime is eligible for the death penalty, though the Department of Justice hasn't indicated whether it will pursue that punishment. Related : Spokespeople for the DOJ and United States attorney's office in Massachusetts didn't immediately respond Tuesday to requests for comment. Farwell has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial in a detention center in Rhode Island. On Monday, he asked a judge to reschedule a hearing in his case set for next week. The proceeding is now scheduled for early August. Advertisement Stevens and Farwell's other lawyers didn't immediately respond Tuesday to requests for comment. Farwell is already represented by federal public defenders Jane Peachy and Sandra Gant. Related : On Monday, attorney Joanne M. Daley, an assistant federal public defender in Rhode Island, joined the defense team, court records show. Farwell is accused of strangling Birchmore, 23, and then staging the scene to look like a suicide. Birchmore was about three months pregnant when she died. The Sandra Birchmore Family photo These allegations are bolstered by texts between the two that are part of the court record. Their sexual contact continued into her adult years, and she discussed wanting to have a child with Farwell, a married father, officials have said, citing the texts. Also Tuesday, the state's law enforcement regulator hosted its first public proceeding concerning Advertisement The Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission is seeking to suspend or revoke Heal's law enforcement certification. Birchmore frequently shared deeply personal information with Heal, telling him about her sexual encounters with Farwell and others, court records show. At a pre-hearing conference, Heal's lawyer, Peter S. Farrell said his client 'is likely going to resolve the case,' by agreeing not to seek renewal of his certification after it expires next Tuesday. Heal, who resigned from Abington police in 2023, no longer works in law enforcement, but he doesn't intend to agree to decertification as did Farwell and his twin brother, William, another former Stoughton police officer, Farrell said. Heal has put through the 'ringer' and has had difficulty staying employed because of his connection to Birchmore's case, Farrell said. 'I'll say this bluntly, directly, and to the point. Enough is enough,' he said. Officers must be certified by the commission if they want to work in law enforcement in Massachusetts. Shaun Martinez, an enforcement lawyer for POST, said he expects both sides will submit a proposed resolution for commissioners to consider at their meeting next month. Heal, 45, met Birchmore in 2019 while he worked for Stoughton as an animal control officer. The same year, he had a consensual sexual encounter with Birchmore, 22, that occurred after business hours at Stoughton's animal control office, court records show. Birchmore's estate named Heal in a wrongful death lawsuit, but he was dismissed from the case last year. Advertisement POST's disciplinary hearing against Laura Crimaldi can be reached at
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Yahoo
Real ID deadline one month away
ELMIRA, N.Y. (WETM) –Starting May 7th, a standard license or non-driver ID will no longer be accepted to fly within the U.S. Americans will have to have either a REAL ID or an enhanced ID. Both are different from a standard ID because they have emblems on them. Chemung County DMV Deputy Director Janice Farwell says having an Enhanced ID is an upgraded version of the real ID. 'The REAL ID will get you onto domestic flights within the US and into federal buildings. The Enhanced license does that and gets you to Canada, Mexico, some of the Caribbean by land or Sea,' said Farwell. The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles is urging New Yorkers to apply for a REAL ID or an Enhanced ID now to avoid the last minute rush. 'They should consider getting at least a REAL ID and come to the DMV in the morning or at least before three. we get really busy after three,' added Farwell. If you don't get one of them by the May 7th deadline, you don't have to worry unless you are flying in the near future. 'That's fine. We can still do it after the deadline. They just may not have an approved federal ID to get on a domestic flight. So, if they plan on getting on a flight, they want to be sure they have it before then.' Farwell says there is no additional fee for a REAL ID if you are renewing. There is a $30 extra fee to get an Enhanced ID. You can visit Enhanced or REAL ID | NY DMV for a list of documents needed in order to apply. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
