Geraldine Baxter, 68, of Rockville, Maryland, died after a stay in the intensive care unit at Shady Grove Adventist Hospital while under the care of ICU staff. Prosecutors later included her among five patients they said were victims of neglect tied to the actions and omissions of ICU nurse Coleen M. Thompson. Baxter had been hospitalized for complications after a hip replacement and was in a precarious condition that required careful pain control and close monitoring. Authorities alleged Thompson administered morphine that had not been ordered and that Baxter was declared dead even though monitoring later showed brief continued heart activity.

Concerns about patient care surfaced within the hospital when a fellow nurse reported problems in early July 2003, prompting a hospital-led and Montgomery County police criminal investigation that expanded to multiple deaths. Prosecutors framed the case as neglect of vulnerable adults rather than homicide, emphasizing the difficulty of proving how much omissions hastened deaths of already gravely ill patients. Thompson pleaded guilty in March 2005 to five misdemeanor counts of second-degree abuse or neglect of a vulnerable adult and was sentenced in May 2005 to concurrent 18-month terms with all but 45 days suspended, plus a fine and probation.