Simon Hultman was not the first student to die while attending Washington College, and he will not be the last. Understanding the process that the community undergoes in such events is essential in being able to reconcile one’s feelings, as well as finding guidance for dealing with future occurrences like this.
On Sunday, January 18, unable to contact her son and in distress, Simon’s mother obtained a Washington College phone number from directory assistance and left a message on the corresponding voice mail. As recounted by Dean of Students Maureen McIntire, the number happened to be for Business Office staff member Debra Bergen, who has no duties in relation to Student Affairs or Health Services.
Monday morning, Mrs. Bergen found the message on her voice mail, recognized the urgency of the situation, and forwarded the information to the appropriate departments. The Washington College Health Services department tracked down Simon in his room and took him to Chester River Hospital. There, he was examined by the College Physician David Robinson and then transported to University of Maryland Hospital in Baltimore. Simon remained under care at the University of Maryland Hospital until his death one week later on Monday, January 26.
Though Simon had been seriously ill for more than a week, to the vast majority of the community the news of his death was very sudden and unexpected. Only a relatively small number of Simon’s friends knew that he was sick--a fact primarily due to federal regulations that protect the confidentiality of an individual’s medical records. Outlined in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), no entity, including Washington College, may disclose medical information about any legal adult to any one.
Thus, even though the College determined it necessary to notify the campus of the possibility that a student had contracted Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), the name of the student remained anonymous and their actual conditioned remained confidential to anyone other than medical authorities.
The only instances in which an entity may make others aware of a person’s medical condition occur in two very specific circumstances. According to Health Services Director Dawn Nordhoff, any time that a student seeks medical treatment from the College he or she is presented the option of signing a release that would allow information on his or her condition and treatment to be shared with family. Consequently, if a student does not sign the release no such information will be communicated at all. Fortunately, Simon did sign this release. The only other exception is if the physical health of other individuals may be in danger.
In the circumstance surrounding Simon’s case, a small handful of students fell into this category: these students had been in close proximity to Simon when he became ill and to assure their safety they were contacted by Health Services for medical evaluations.
Thus, from the moment of Simon’s hospitalization, it was up to those who already knew of his condition to use their own judgment in privately informing others of what was happening. Brenna Schneider, an International Studies major who worked closely with Simon, pointed out the quandary of being one of the informed.
Though there was nothing she could do to directly aid Simon, knowing of his condition led her to feel that she could “keep participating in the friendship.” Nonetheless it, “put a lot of responsibility on friends of Simon who did know to tell those who didn’t.” This was not gossiping but a network of good will.
Even after Simon’s death on January 26, these channels of communication continued until the next morning when President Toll announced Simon’s death, via e-mail, to the entire campus. As states Dr. Andrew Oros, an advisor and professor to Simon, “The College did what they were obligated to do, but also what was appropriate,” in protect a student’s privacy.
Noah Melamed, one of Simon’s closest friends, remains confident that he “much rather hear it from a friend,” as he did, than from the formal announcement.
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