Accomplished physician and researcher Dr. Lewis Cohen writes the untold story of two Massachusetts nurses, their struggles with end of life care, and how they were accused of murdering a patient. Captivating and powerful, No Good Deed explores what happens when decisions about end of life issues and the purpose of modern medicine move from the hospital to the courtroom to the church.
How does compassionate care become a criminal investigation?
- Palliative Medicine: A compassionate physician explores the clash between alleviating suffering and the societal fear of hastening death, drawing on his own experience at the hospital where the events unfolded.
- Wrongful Accusation: Follow the harrowing ordeal of two dedicated nurses, Kim Hoy and Amy Gleason, after a colleague’s report turns their professional lives into a legal nightmare.
- The Euthanasia Debate: Delve into the complex ethical landscape, connecting this shocking case to landmark battles like Terri Schiavo’s and the work of Dr. Jack Kevorkian.
- Medical Ethics: Examine what happens when a disagreement over patient care moves from the bedside to the courtroom, forcing doctors, nurses, and families to defend their most difficult decisions.
On a blustery night, detectives from the Massachusetts State Police knocked on Amy Gleason's door. Gleason, along with fellow nurse Kim Hoy, had helped a patient deal with pain and suffering at the end of her life. Now the patient was dead, and the two nurses were being investigated for murder. Both believed they had done the right thing, but they had no idea what it would cost them.
In this captivating and powerful true story, Dr. Lewis M. Cohen uses the experiences of Gleason, Hoy, and the nursing assistant who accused them of murder to explore what happens when decisions about end-of-life care shift from the hospital to the courtroom and the church. Tracing this issue from the uproar over Terri Schiavo's feeding tube to the controversial figure of Jack Kevorkian, and to the legitimate threat of serial killer medical professionals, Cohen goes behind the scenes on both sides of this debate. He examines how advances in modern medicine have given us tremendous tools for prolonging life but have also forced us to address how we treat patients who are dying and suffering.
