For anyone who has watched the shocking new Netflix documentary, Take Care of Maya, you'll be more than aware of the name Sally Smith – Dr Sally Smith, to be precise. The medical professional, from Johns Hopkins All Children's hospital, played a huge part in the case of Maya Kowalski, whose mother, Beata, was wrongly accused of abusing her daughter through Munchausen by proxy (MSP).
In reality, Beata (a nurse) was trying to advocate for her daughter Maya, who has a chronic, long-term condition Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (known as CRPS), to be given high doses of ketamine – because this method of treatment had proved successful in the past. Dr Sally Smith, however, testified that her behaviour was consistent with child abuse, which saw the Kowalski family ripped
2023 © NetflixThe Kowalski family
Beata Kowalski tragically ended up taking her own life after being separated from Maya for almost three months. During this time, Maya had to remain in hospital and could not receive visits from her mother. Their only communication was through phone calls with a social worker (who Beata later found out had been arrested on suspicion of child abuse after smothering a ten-year-old boy), Cathi Bedy, in the room.
Towards the end of Take Care of Maya, other families appear on screen to recount similar stories of taking an unwell child into hospital – trying to do the right thing for them – and then being wrongly accused of child abuse. Many of these stories have one name in common: Dr Sally Smith.
But where is Dr Sally Smith now? What has she said about the Netflix documentary, Take Care of Maya? And does she still work at the Johns Hopkins All Children's hospital in Florida?
Who is Dr Sally Smith?
Dr Sally Smith was a Florida-based doctor with more than 30 years of experience. Although her employer was not Johns Hopkins hospital directly (she worked for Suncoast Advocacy Services), the medical facility often called upon her services for an expert opinion in cases of suspected child abuse. Many reportedly regarded her as a well-respected leader in her field and as such, she held great power – and her job was not an easy one: make the wrong call and a family could either be torn apart forever, or a child could end up dead.
As for how she became involved with the Kowalski family, when staff raised concerns that Beata was insisting her daughter be issued a high volume of ketamine to treat her pain, Sally spearheaded the formal investigation and wrote a report accusing Beata of 'medical child abuse'. Her word was taken as gospel, causing the Kowalski family to be legally separated from one another for almost three months, until Beata took her own life. Heartbreakingly, it was only after this that Maya was then told she could return back to her family home and to her father's care.
Where is Dr Sally Smith now?
According to an article published by The Cut, Dr Sally Smith has now retired – but appears to have a continued link with the Johns Hopkins hospital (amongst others). At the end of Take Care of Maya, it's explained that in the December of 2021, Sally and her employer, Suncoast Advocacy Services, settled their portion of the lawsuit with the Kowalskis for $2.5 million.
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What has Dr Sally Smith said about Take Care of Maya?
Although the team behind Take Care of Maya reached out to Sally, she refused to comment on record for the film, however, when speaking to The Cut last year, she said: "I am not a horrible person whose goal in life is to disrupt families. I have spent my adult life attempting to serve children in my community to ameliorate conditions of abuse and neglect.
"I wish our society did more to help struggling families to provide safe, nurturing homes to their children. I'm not a big proponent of punitive approaches for such families contrary to media portrayals about me."
She added that out of some 3,000 cases that she's been involved in, only 12 have seen a child returned to their parents (or had the charges dropped, or the Florida Department of Children and Families reverse its separation order). "So, 12 cases is a pretty small percentage," she said. "My job is not to make mistakes. To my knowledge, I don't have any cases where I've made an incorrect conclusion."
In the documentary, another parent, Vivianna Graham, whose partner was also wrongly accused of abuse upon Sally's recommendation, and separated from their child, reads out a letter that Sally once sent her (after her husband, Jeremy, was allowed to return to their family home). Vivianna explains that she started sending Sally a Christmas card each year so "she's reminded of a family she tried to break apart but didn't" and was shocked to receive a response.
The reply began, "I received your card again and just wanted to say I'm sorry you're still so angry about my part in the investigation regarding your son. There are definitely a disturbing number of abused and neglected children in Pinellas County. I understand you feel very strongly that your son wasn't one of them."
Sally's reply then asks Vivianna to share what her son's true diagnosis (which showed symptoms consistent with abuse) is, in the hopes that it could help her work in future. "I would very much like to hear what that was, so I can consider it appropriately next time," she adds. "I try very hard to be thorough and get it right but perhaps I need to be careful to consider 'grey areas'."
Does Dr Sally Smith still work at the Johns Hopkins hospital in Florida?
No, it appears that Dr Sally Smith voluntarily resigned from her post, however the Johns Hopkins hospital's website still lists her as an independent practitioner, as does the Bayfront Medical Center.
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Jennifer Savin is Cosmopolitan UK's multiple award-winning Features Editor, who was crowned Digital Journalist of the Year for her work tackling the issues most important to young women. She regularly covers breaking news, cultural trends, health, the royals and more, using her esteemed connections to access the best experts along the way. She's grilled everyone from high-profile politicians to A-list celebrities, and has sensitively interviewed hundreds of people about their real life stories. In addition to this, Jennifer is widely known for her own undercover investigations and campaign work, which includes successfully petitioning the government for change around topics like abortion rights and image-based sexual abuse. Jennifer is also a published author, documentary consultant (helping to create BBC’s Deepfake Porn: Could You Be Next?) and a patron for Y.E.S. (a youth services charity). Alongside Cosmopolitan, Jennifer has written for The Times, Women’s Health, ELLE and numerous other publications, appeared on podcasts, and spoken on (and hosted) panels for the Women of the World Festival, the University of Manchester and more. In her spare time, Jennifer is a big fan of lipstick, leopard print and over-ordering at dinner. Follow Jennifer on Instagram, X or LinkedIn.
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