'Take Care of Maya' Netflix documentary peels back layers of Florida’s child welfare system
Six years after Maya Kowalski was released from Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital following the death of her mother, she and her family are sharing their story in a new Netflix documentary, “Take Care of Maya.”
The film, set to air on Sunday, follows the story of the Kowalski family as it peels back the layers of Florida’s child healthcare and welfare system while giving the family a platform to share their story as their case against the hospital inches toward trial. The family was featured in a previous Sarasota Herald-Tribune and Paste BN Network investigation.
“We feel this is the beginning of a much larger conversation,” said Henry Roosevelt, the film’s director. “The Kowalskis expressed to us that they are using their voice so that this doesn’t happen to another family again.”
Nick Whitney, one of the Kowalskis’ attorneys, echoed that his clients are seeking justice for how Maya and Beata were treated by the hospital, to educate people and make them aware of what can happen if doctors make a snap judgment without consulting the family, and to save other families from a similar situation.
As the documentary and previous Sarasota Herald-Tribune reporting reveal, there are many other examples that show the power of doctors and hospitals during allegations of abuse that can leave families traumatized if the allegations are false.
Caitlin Keating, the film's producer, said while she thinks many of those involved in the child welfare system are there to protect children and keep families together, there has been a shift.
"While child abuse is something that is very real and happening every day, we just think this film really does examine this system and in some cases that might not turn out the way people hope it will," Keating said.
In October 2016, 10-year-old Maya Kowalski was taken to the St. Petersburg hospital for a severe stomachache following a relapse of her Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome, a disorder that impairs the central nervous system and heightens pain sensations, according to previous Herald-Tribune reporting.
While at the hospital, doctors began to doubt her condition — and her mother’s mental health — submitting an abuse report regarding “medical neglect” which was closed the same day after officials spoke with her specialist.
Led by Dr. Sally Smith, a pediatrician and part-time medical director of the Pinellas County Child Protection Team, a second abuse report was submitted a day later with specific details. Maya was placed under protective custody and her parents weren't allowed to see her.
Jack Kowalski, Maya's father, was later granted visitation, but Beata was prohibited from visiting Maya.
“A couple of days after (Maya) arrived, her mom kissed her on the forehead and said, ‘I'll see you tomorrow,’” Whitney said. “And she never saw her mom again.”
Three months later when Maya was released from the hospital by a judge's order, she returned in a deteriorated state and her family was shattered after Beata Kowalski, a registered nurse and immigrant from Communist-era Poland, had taken her life in January 2017. In two notes left to her family and the judge who denied her the opportunity to hug her daughter a few days earlier during a court hearing, she blamed the hospital, the doctors, and the courts for her suicide, previous reporting stated.
More than a year later, the Kowalskis sued All Children’s and Smith, and they are still waiting for justice.
Jack Kowalski previously said he was confident that the case would prove the hospital and Smith knew they were making false child abuse allegations.
Following the publication of the Herald-Tribune story, both Keating and Roosevelt wanted to share the Kowalskis’ powerful and heartbreaking tale. Reaching out to the family's attorneys, they soon met with the family and over the course of four years, filmed the documentary.
"We were after emotional truth more than anything," Roosevelt said.
Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital responds
In response to the documentary premiering on Netflix and recent media exposure, Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital released a statement saying its priority is “always the safety and privacy of our patients and their families.”
“Our first responsibility is always to the child brought to us for care, and we are legally obligated to notify the Department of Children and Families when we detect signs of possible abuse or neglect,” the statement in part says. “It is DCF that investigates the situation and makes the ultimate decision about what course of action is in the best interest of the child."
It also cited federal privacy laws as being limited in the amount of information that can be released about a particular case. A public relations specialist directed a Herald-Tribune reporter to look into “publicly available filings related to this case” to provide further information.
Ethen Shapiro, a shareholder at Hill Ward Henderson law firm in Tampa and the attorney the hospital directed questions toward, responded to inquiries about the case by providing some of the publicly available filings that he states, “contradicts the Netflix narrative.”
Shapiro said in his email that the court already determined the hospital’s medical providers “had reasonable cause to suspect Maya Kowalski’s mother was abusing her” and that other medical providers at local and world-renowned medical centers voiced the same concerns prior to Maya being admitted.
His statement echoed previous reporting about court filings in which the hospital's attorneys believed Maya was a victim of Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a mental illness in which a caretaker fakes the child’s illness for sympathy and attention.
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The defense in court filings presented testimony by a local physician saying Beata Kowalski fraudulently filled prescriptions for medications that weren't authorized, Shapiro said.
Shapiro points to parts of a transcript from a police interview with Jack Kowalski in which he said when he was with Maya, she had no complaints of pain, but when his wife came home, Maya would suddenly be in pain. Additionally, Shapiro pointed to a sworn oath by Sarasota County Sheriff's Deputy Stephanie Graham that a police investigation was heading toward criminal charges against Beata prior to her death.
Case crawls through courts, but trial may be close
The Kowalskis’ case was expected to go to trial in April 2022, but an appeal filed right before jury selection stayed the case.
More than a year later and with more than 3,100 documents filed in the case, a six-to-eight-week trial is scheduled for September 2023.+
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Whitney, who described the case as a David versus Goliath story, said that while Circuit Court Judge Hunter Carroll has done everything in his power to push the case to trial, he doesn’t know what the defense may do to delay the trial again.
The family released a statement about their motivation for pursuing the case despite setbacks.
"Even though our decision to pursue this case through trial is deeply rooted in the hope that other people will not have to endure a similar trauma to ours, there is a personal motivation," the statement reads. "Before our mom passed, she clearly expressed her desire to hold the hospital and the doctors accountable for their crimes. Our continued fight fulfills our commitment to her and to others."
Gabriela Szymanowska covers the legal system for the Herald-Tribune in partnership with Report for America. You can support her work with a tax-deductible donation to Report for America. Contact Gabriela Szymanowska at gszymanowska@gannett.com, or on Twitter.