A Philadelphia doctor is retiring at the end of the month after several families sued her over allegations that she falsely accused them of abusing their children.
Dr. Debra Esernio-Jenssen, 68, worked as a pediatrician at Lehigh Valley Health Network after joining in 2014.
But nearly 50 plaintiffs, mostly parents and their children, have filed a class-action lawsuit over alleged misdiagnoses of child abuse.
The families have claimed that Esernio-Jenssen falsely accused them of abusing their children and regularly misdiagnosed cases of the rare Munchausen syndrome by proxy.
It is a psychological condition in which a person fakes or induces an illness in a person under their care, such as their child.
Philadelphia doctor Debra Esernio-Jenssen is retiring at the end of the month after several families sued her over allegations that she falsely accused them of abusing their children.
The 68-year-old worked as a pediatrician within Lehigh Valley Health Network after joining in 2014.
Lehigh Valley Health Network announced Friday that Esernio-Jenssen has “decided to retire from the organization effective March 31, 2024,” according to The morning call.
“As Dr. Jenssen retires, it is a crucial time for us to embrace change and improve how the county protects our families and children,” said Lehigh County Comptroller Mark Pinsley.
‘This is an opportunity to innovate and strengthen the health and safety protocols of our community.’
It comes after Esernio-Jenssen left her position as director of Lehigh Valley Health Network’s Children’s Advocacy Center in September.
The Parents’ Medical Rights Group, which was created in the wake of alleged wrongful abuse allegations, welcomed the news of the doctor’s retirement but said it would still work to obtain justice.
“While we are pleased to see progress to make the community safer, allowing years of widespread harm to children and families is unacceptable,” he said in a statement.
‘The PMRG will continue to seek and support accountability in all areas that contributed to the irreparable harm.
‘We encourage all those in leadership roles to stop remaining silent and start using their voices, like these children and families did, to protect our community from this widespread harm happening again. No more silence.’
A class-action lawsuit has been filed against Esernio-Jenssen and Lehigh Valley Health Network accusing her of breaking up families and causing reputational damage.
About 30 residents have appeared before the Lehigh County Board of Commissioners to talk about their experiences with the doctor.
It’s a chilling echo of the Netflix documentary Take Care of Maya, which details how Maya Kowalski (pictured) was torn from her parents when she was 10 when the hospital wrongly accused her mother of Munchausen syndrome by proxy.
Maya (left) was 10 years old when she was separated from her family after doctors mistakenly believed her parents were faking their symptoms. Her mother (center) committed suicide due to the stress of the hospital’s decision, a jury ruled
Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida, requested a new trial, but the motion was denied in the same ruling that reduced the amount Kowalski and his family are ordered to pay.
The families protested outside Lehigh Valley Hospital against alleged misdiagnoses of child abuse and demanded that Esernio-Jenssen be fired.
Sisters Hazel and Willow Feeney said WLNE-TV They were removed from their family’s custody in 2021 when they were 11 and 17 years old.
“I was terrified,” Hazel said. While Willow added: “My parents my whole life had done the best they could to take care of me and my sisters and there was no way that could be true.”
Families accused of child abuse say Esernio-Jenssen never interviewed them before her Munchausen syndrome diagnosis.
“It affected me mentally, physically and financially,” Stacy Feeney said after being charged. ‘You’re afraid to go anywhere. To talk to the family. There is nothing to say.’
Willow and Hazel’s father, Michael Kwiatkowski, called for action to be taken against Esernio-Jenssen.
He said: “We have to make sure there are no more families who are tortured by her.”
It’s a chilling echo of the Netflix documentary Take Care of Maya, which details how a 10-year-old girl was torn from her parents when the hospital wrongly accused her mother of Munchausen syndrome by proxy.
Maya Kowalski was jailed by doctors for months and in November a jury determined that the hospital’s actions had led Maya’s mother to commit suicide in 2017.
But after the family won its lawsuit against the hospital, Johns Hopkins filed a motion for a new trial, alleging that the jury foreman’s wife had tainted the trial by sharing “inside information” on social media.
Judge Hunter Carroll denied that motion, but also ruled that Kowalski’s staggering $261 million payout be reduced by $47.5 million.
DailyMail.com has contacted Lehigh Valley Health Network for comment.