Mary Catherine

Every year, approximately 400,000 Americans die from medical mistakes, including improperly prescribed medicines, infections they get from being in the hospital (so called "nosicomial" infections), and surgical errors. The rate of fatalities is the equivalent of a 747 full of passengers crashing every week. But there is none of the media play that such events would carry. The dirty little secret of medicine is not entirely unknown either. Those who are paying attention can see a steady stream of newspaper articles on the subject, mastectomies performed on the wrong breast, amputations of the wrong limb, sponges left in the abdominal cavity which lead to peritonitis, and death, etc. Oh, yes. They are there if you want to see them.

I have decided to name the starship I am designing the Mary Catherine in her honor.