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Report: Mistakes Made Prior to 2013 Death of Peace Corps Volunteer

A Peace Corps doctor caring for a 23-year-old Peace Corps volunteer in China made a series of missteps in treating the volunteer before his death, the agency’s inspector general found. According to a report in the New York Times, Dr. Jin Goa dismissed warnings from another doctor about Castle’s impending death. She also altered her ...

AFP / Tang Chhin Sothy
AFP / Tang Chhin Sothy
AFP / Tang Chhin Sothy

A Peace Corps doctor caring for a 23-year-old Peace Corps volunteer in China made a series of missteps in treating the volunteer before his death, the agency's inspector general found.

A Peace Corps doctor caring for a 23-year-old Peace Corps volunteer in China made a series of missteps in treating the volunteer before his death, the agency’s inspector general found.

According to a report in the New York Times, Dr. Jin Goa dismissed warnings from another doctor about Castle’s impending death. She also altered her notes about her treatment of Castle after submitting them to the Peace Corps.

Although the report uncovered "cascading delays and failures in the treatment" of Castle, it determined his death was a "tragic experience" that could not have been prevented. It doesn’t blame the Peace Corps for Castle’s death, although it cites medical lapses made by Gao.

According to the Peace Corps, its own internal review, along with a review conducted by a doctor from the George Washington University Medical Center, concluded changes in the care delivered by Gao would not have prevented Castle’s death.

The inspector general determined that Gao didn’t recognize Castle was severely dehydrated when he fell ill in January 2013. She refused to call an ambulance after another doctor suggested Castle could die. She also didn’t stress the urgency of Castle’s condition to Chinese medics when an ambulance was finally called.

The Peace Corps was already in the midst of an overhaul of its health care system when Castle died. The agency’s press director, Shira Kramer, said the Peace Corps is reviewing recommendations made in the report.  

"We respect and value the work of our inspector general, and the Peace Corps cooperated fully with the inspector general’s investigation," Kramer told Foreign Policy via email. "A number of the recommendations included in this report, in fact, have already been instituted by the agency."

For instance, the agency centralized the hiring of medical personnel in Washington. Prior to 2005, these workers were hired "in country."

In addition, the Peace Corps is finalizing an electronic medical records system to manage volunteers’ health care records. This system is expected to be online next year, according to the agency.

"The health, safety, and security of volunteers are always our top priorities," Kramer stated. 

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