If you have a child over 18, have they appointed YOU as their health care proxy? After reading Baylie’s story, all parents should speak to their adult children about obtaining a health care surrogate document. Such a document can grant parents access to their adult children’s medical records and allow them to make medical decisions in case of an emergency.
In 2018, Shawnee Baker’s life changed with a single phone call. Her 19-year-old daughter, Baylie Grogan – a neuroscience major on the pre-med track at the University of Miami – had just reached a major academic milestone. Bright and ambitious, Baylie had recently been hired as the youngest-ever medical scribe at a local hospital, a position typically reserved for medical students.
That promising future was tragically interrupted one weekend. It was the first weekend back at the University of Miami. After attending a daytime event (where alcohol was consumed), Baylie later spent the evening with her sorority sisters. Though she only consumed water that night, she became separated from her friends in downtown Miami.
Baylie Grogan encountered two men who claimed to be fellow medical students. Trusting them, she canceled her Uber and accepted a ride home. But the men weren’t who they said they were. They took Baylie on a long detour away from campus. Alarmed, she texted her friends that she was with “sketchy guys” who wouldn’t give their names.
One of the men handed Baylie a cup of water that she suspected had been tampered with. She texted her roommate, “They’re trying to get me to drink something – too much.” She spilled it, upsetting the men, who stopped the car. One went into a club to get another drink, but when he returned, Baylie had vanished.
Disoriented, Baylie called her friends, asking for them to come get her. When they told her to call an Uber, she responded, “I don’t know how.” At 3 a.m., in the pouring rain and three miles away from campus, her sorority sisters were overwhelmed, uncertain of what to do. There was no one to call, no parent to advise her, and no clear sense of when to involve emergency services. They told Baylie to walk home.
Around 3:15 a.m., surveillance footage captured a red Hyundai Sonata striking Baylie as she walked alone along South Dixie Highway. The driver remained at the scene and was not charged. Baylie would spend the next six weeks in the ICU, fighting for her life.
In the early hours of the next morning, while her mother, Shawnee, was at home in Maine, a call came from a Florida police officer: Baylie had been struck by a vehicle while walking alone. Her injuries were severe, and her parents needed to get to Miami immediately.
Shawnee and her husband, Scott Baker, contacted the hospital as soon as they could. A surgeon confirmed that Baylie was in the operating room – but the hospital refused to share specific details about her condition or the procedure. The reason? Baylie was legally an adult, and under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA Act”), her medical information could not be disclosed without her prior written authorization.
Baylie had not executed a health care surrogate document (“HCS”), also known as a health care proxy, Advanced Directive, or medical power of attorney. A HCS allows an individual to plan ahead for difficult medical decisions. It allows the individual to name someone (the “agent”) who can make health care decisions for them if they cannot make them. Often these types of documents are considered part of an estate plan, and estate planning through a reputable attorney typically interests older adults more than young adults. However, once a child is no longer a minor, the parents’ access to their medical record is limited – even if they pay for health insurance, have the child listed on their own health insurance policy, or are the next of kin.
Unfortunately, Baylie and her parents had not done that, making it harder for her mother and stepfather to be involved in her care. Without this legal document in place, her parents were not authorized to access her medical records or make decisions on her behalf, despite the urgency of the situation and their obvious role in her care.
Shawnee recounts that right from the start, the hospital asked us about a health care proxy. If we had it on our phone or our computers, or even on file at an attorney’s office, we could have sent it right away by text or email. Since we could not provide that document, the hospital did not want to tell us any details. We learned the hard way that the health care proxy gives you permission as parents to advocate for your child.
Without a health care proxy, her mother could not immediately request a toxicology test to determine whether she had been drugged. Weeks later, toxicology tests showed only alcohol and prescription medication. The delay meant any date-rape drugs were undetectable. Without clear evidence, there was no crime to prosecute, and no arrests were made. Quick testing is crucial – but in Baylie’s case, it came too late.
HCA Florida Kendall Hospital stated that it followed all federal privacy laws intended to protect patient rights. In Baylie Grogan’s case, those very laws became a barrier. While the hospital kept her parents, Shawnee and Scott Baker, informed of the procedures being performed, they were not allowed to participate in any medical decision-making—because Baylie, at 19, had not signed a health care surrogate designation.
An MRI revealed devastating news: Baylie’s brain injuries were irreversible. She would remain in a permanent vegetative state. But without a health care surrogate document giving her parents legal authority to act on her behalf, the hospital could not take directions from them. Instead, an internal ethics committee was appointed to determine whether to continue life support.
The Bakers were forced into a second heartbreaking legal battle – this time to honor their daughter’s unspoken wishes. Shawnee had once discussed end-of-life care with Baylie, but without that in writing, it held no legal weight. Baylie died six weeks later. She was only nineteen years old when she succumbed to her catastrophic injuries. After emotional discussions, the committee agreed, and life support was withdrawn.
Baylie’s story underscores a painful truth: once your child turns 18, you no longer have automatic rights to make medical decisions – even in a crisis. A signed HCS could have spared the Bakers added trauma and ensured Baylie’s wishes were respected from the start.
Today, Shawnee Baker shares her daughter’s story through her book Baylie and the Baylie’s Wish Foundation, which advocates for student safety and encourages families to prepare legal documents before a crisis occurs.
Do not wait until it is too late to create such a document. Remember that unlike a Last Will and Testament or Revocable Trust, the Health Care Surrogate Document starts working while someone is alive (but incapacitated) and terminates upon the death of that person. For those of you who have navigated the challenging decision-making process regarding the cessation of life-sustaining efforts and the transition of an elderly loved one to hospice care, you are aware of the profound and often traumatic choices involved. Providing your loved ones with a signed document clearly outlining your intentions can help alleviate some of that burden.
Contact OC Estate and Elder Law at (954) 251-0332 or info@ocestatelawyers.com to receive a free consultation today. Our law firm conducts consultations over the phone or Zoom and facilitates concierge signing right from your home. We speak English, Spanish, and Russian. Wishing you safe travels this summer, and to those with adult children heading off to college, we extend our best wishes as they embark on this exciting new chapter.
