Ordinarily, a website named Waycross Life might be thought of as a magazine about everyday life in Waycross, Georgia. However, that is not the case. This website is the result of an investigative report into the death of Barbara Jean Morgan Hickson; a Waycross resident who passed away on July 10, 2013. In a number of ways, the circumstances of her death have similarities to that of the well-known radio personality "Casey" Kasem. Both had mixed families (children) resulting from separate marriages and in both cases the interests of blood relatives clashed with their married spouses. This website will evolve to expose and explore the events driven by these circumstances and the public policy issues they raise as the baby boomer generation approaches the age where similar situations may take on a very personal meaning to a large part of the population. Thus, the goals of this website are to raise public awareness and to generate debate on legislative and public policy matters that arose during the life and death of Barbara Jean Morgan Hickson. In preparation for this report, hundreds of pages of medical documents, interviews, existing Georgia laws, and other documents were consulted.

Barbara Jean Morgan was born May 21, 1933 in Blackshear, Georgia. She was a 1951 graduate of Blackshear High School and was employed by Southern Bell Telephone & Telegraph in Waycross in a variety of positions. Following retirement from the telephone company, she returned to school and graduated in 1986 from the Waycross Ware Tech Practical Nursing program; she had always dreamed of becoming a nurse. She subsequently worked for the Baptist Village retirement community as an Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN). She was an active member of Waring Community Church in Waycross where she donated services as a bookkeeper. She also served as a tireless volunteer serving the fund raising activities of the American Cancer Society. She played piano and had a passion for caring for animals, especially cats. She was twice married, first to Martin Cannon (deceased) of Waycross and second to Mark Lott (M.L.) Hickson of Waycross. Her first marriage produced a son, Jason Michael Canon, just as M.L.'s first marriage produced a daughter Barbara Hickson Barton.

                Issue 1. Erroneous Death Certificate Information:

Items marked #1 and #2 on the death certificate reflect her position with the telephone company. But this was not the work or accomplishment that she was most proud of. Barbara Jean Morgan loved helping other people and was thrilled when she became an Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) and went to work caring for patients at Baptist Village. Further, her LPN position required a higher level of education than is shown on her death certificate and would be recognized by most people as a greater accomplishment. Why then does her death certificate not show her highest achievement? Her husband, Mark Lott Hickson,  provided understated information regarding her achievements to those responsible for creating her death certificate.  It seems clear to most observers that as a matter of public policy that official state documents should not understate an individuals achievements no matter what rationalization may be put forth. For the State of Georgia to leave such erroneous information uncorrected is unjustifiable. Yet, according to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. of the Georgia Department of Public Health, State Office of Vital Records the state has no regulations that allow administrative changes to death certificates even when it has received undeniable proof that the death certificate information is incorrect even though Georgia Law O.C.G.A § 31-10-23(a) (2010) requires the Department to prescribe such regulations. So who believes that if a physicians death certificate said "medical student" that the family would be unable to get the information corrected to reflect Medical Doctor (M.D.)?

The item marked #3 on the death certificate reflects her educational level during employment with the phone company. Again, this understates her educational achievements by not reflecting her training as an LPN. Again, the Georgia Department of Public Health, State Office of Vital Records refuses to correct this even after being presented with the evidence.

The item marked #4 on the death certificate is more serious than the "administrative" errors identified previously because this item shows erroneous medical information in direct contradiction to the instructions, directions, and governing laws and regulations of the State of Georgia. The instructions for Item 32 Part II of the death certificate state: "DO NOT enter terminal events such as cardiac arrest, respiratory arrest, Of venticular fibrillation without showing etiology." However, the death certificate signed by Dr. Donald Richard Lynch, MD 14927, of Waycross Family Practice (now defunct), blatantly ignores and otherwise defiantly disobeys the law by listing "Respiratory Failure." This alone seriously calls into question the medical validity of this state death certificate. Additionally, as a footnote before proceeding to item 5, it should be noted that the Dementia shown as item B fails to medically classify what kind of dementia (i.e., Alzheimers, vascular, DLB, mixed, Parkinson's, frontotemporal, creutzfeldt-jakob, hydrocephalus, Hunting's,Wernicke-Korsakoff, etc.) and thus fails to provide any meaningful medical information. In this regard, it fails to meet the medical standards for death certificates in many states.

The items marked #5a, #5c, and item #6 on the death certificate shows that Dr Donald Richard Lynch did not identify any conditions that led to her death even though her Mayo Clinic Waycross hospital records identified a long list of other medical conditions including broken bones from numerous in-home falls. These were clearly related to the decline of her health and subsequent death.

The item marked #7 on the death certificate shows that she died of natural causes. This stands in stark contradiction to the Mayo Clinic Waycross hospital record, which shows that - contrary to her written Georgia Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare - that food and water were withdrawn from the patient per the instructions of her "family." In fact, the only "family" member who gave instruction for removing food and water from her was exclusively her husband, M.L. Hickson. A reasonable question to ask at this juncture is, how many residents of the State of Georgia believe that withdrawing food and water from an elderly person has no effect on their longevity? How many people view that it is "natural" to die under conditions where food and water have been withdrawn from an elderly person by their care giver; especially when that action is completely opposite of the person's expressed written medical instructions? Yet, Dr Lynch, who is presumably among the most educated persons in the state certified that the death of Barbara Jean Morgan Hickson occurred due to natural causes.

Georgia Code Title 43, Professions and Businesses, Chapter 34 - Physicians, Acupuncture, Physician Assistants, Cancer and Glaucoma Treatment, Respiratory Care, Clinical Perfusionists, and Orthotics and Prosthetivcs Practice § 43-34-8(a) states that the board shall have authority to refuse to grant a license, certificate, or permit to an applicant or to discipline a person regulated under this chapter or any antecedant law upon a finding by the board that the licensee, certificate holder, or permit holder or applicant has: (2) "Knowingly made misleading, deceptive, untrue, or fraudulent representations in the practice of a profession licensed, certified, or permitted under this chapter or in any document connected therewith." Thus, it is clear that not only did Dr Lynch violate this section of the law but the GCMB who oversees him has also engaged in knowingly deceptive untrue and fraudulent practices in its oversight role.

The item marked #8 on the death certificate is the proper place to record her in-home falls that resulted in broken bones. These are well documented in the hundreds of pages of medical records obtained during this investigation yet none of this information is shown, just as if it never happened.

As a result of this large number of administrative and medical deficiencies, Barbara Jean Morgan Hickson's son contacted Dr Lynch's office on numerous occasions via telephone to request that Dr. Lynch return his call. On each occasion, staff members screened Dr Lynch's calls requiring that a description of the nature of the call be provided. A number of the aforementioned administrative and medical deficiencies were described to staff members but Dr Lynch never responded. In early 2014 her son filed a complaint against Dr. Donald Richard Lynch with the Georgia Composite Medical Board (GCMB), chaired by Dr Richard Weil, M.D. of Piedmont Pediatrics, in Atlanta requesting correction of the death certificate. On June 10, 2014 an email rendering the GCMB decision was received. The matter has since been referred to the Georgia Secretary of State who oversees the GCMB.

Important Public Policy Issues

1. Should a Georgia spouse be permitted to exercise medical decision authority beyond that granted to them in writing? What is the responsibility of doctors and/or hospitals in overseeing the enforcement of a medical directive?

2. Should the State of Georgia provide an appeals procedure for family members to petition the state with evidence and request corrections of erroneous death certificate information?

3. What responsibilities do physicians have regarding the accuracy of information on death certificates they sign? May doctors knowingly falsify information if the facts of death do not coincide with their own beliefs?

4. What role, if any, should the Georgia Composite Medical Board and the Georgia Department of Vital Records play in insuring the factual accuracy of official Georgia State records?