Skip to main content

Mayo Clinic Rips CNN Reporting as 'Inaccurate, Incomplete, Irresponsible'

Analysis  |  By John Commins  
   August 17, 2018

Mayo 'shocked and deeply saddened by the wholly inaccurate and incomplete reporting' of alleged medical kidnapping. CNN stands by its coverage.

It's been an eventful week for the Mayo Clinic.

On Tuesday, the renowned Rochester, Minnesota–based health system was named the nation's best hospital for the third straight year in the widely read annual rankings from U.S. News & World Report, which includes metrics such as patient experience.

On Wednesday, however, Mayo was the subject of a less-favorable patient experience story in a scathing investigative journalism piece on CNN.

The cable news channel reported that Mayo attempted to "medically kidnap" 18-year-old Alyssa Gilderhus, a high school senior who'd spent two months at the hospital after suffering a ruptured brain aneurism.

The reporting highlights raw video of Mayo staffers grabbing Gilderhus by the arm while she was in a wheelchair and allegedly trying to stop her from leaving the hospital with her family.

"She was truly being held captive," her grandmother, Aimee Olson told CNN. "I would never believe a hospital could do that—never in my wildest dreams."

On Thursday, Mayo went public and called the CNN piece "inaccurate, incomplete and irresponsible reporting."

"A team of Mayo Clinic leaders met with CNN for more than four hours to give them context and share insights to inform their reporting and help them see that there were highly complex and sensitive family dynamics involved in caring for this patient," Chris Gade, chair, Mayo Clinic Department of Public Affairs, said in a media release.

"While we knew the reporter was focused on a pre-determined narrative, the information we provided should have helped them see that their premise was inaccurate. Instead they chose to ignore that information," Gade said. "We were shocked and deeply saddened by the wholly inaccurate and incomplete reporting that was published."

In a letter to Rick Davis, CNN's executive vice president for standards and practices, Gade called Gilderhus's experience "a complex situation involving a vulnerable adult in a suspected abusive family environment."  

Gade ticked off a 12-point critique of the reporting that included allegations that CNN contacted patient care staff "with veiled threats and ask(ed) them to breach confidentiality in order to corroborate information."

CNN returned fire with a point-by-point rebuttal of Mayo's complaint.

"Mayo has failed to point out any facts that CNN got wrong. CNN has made no corrections or changes to the story," the network said.

John Commins is a content specialist and online news editor for HealthLeaders, a Simplify Compliance brand.


KEY TAKEAWAYS

Mayo denies accusations that it attempted to 'medically kidnap' a patient.

CNN accused of having 'a pre-determined narrative' for the story that ignored Mayo's perspective.

The cable network says Mayo 'has failed to point out any facts that CNN got wrong.'


Get the latest on healthcare leadership in your inbox.