Woman dies after ER refuses treatment..

[MadtownPacker]

Report: 911 Operators Refused Aid to Woman Left to Die on L.A. ER Floor

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

LOS ANGELES — New 911 tapes released Tuesday reveal that dispatchers refused to send help to a woman ignored by hospital staff as she lay dying on the floor of a Los Angeles emergency room.

Edith Isabel Rodriguez, 43, died after dispatchers on two 911 calls refused to contact paramedics or an ambulance to send her to another facility, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday. The second dispatcher went so far as to argue with the caller over whether it was a real emergency.

Click here to listen to the recordings at the Los Angeles Times.

Rodriguez died of a perforated bowel on May 9 at Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital. Her death was ruled accidental by the Los Angeles County coroner's office.

In the calls — posted after they were released by the county Sheriff's Department under the newspaper's California Public Records Act request — callers plead for help for the woman left bleeding from the mouth and writhing in pain for 45 minutes on the hospital's floor.

Rodriguez's boyfriend, Jose Prado, used a pay phone outside the hospital to call 911 at 1:43 a.m.

"I'm in the emergency room. My wife is dying and the nurses don't want to help her out," he said in Spanish through an interpreter.

"What's wrong with her?" a dispatcher asked.

"She's vomiting blood," Prado said.

"OK, and why aren't they helping her?" the dispatcher asked.

"They're watching her there and they're not doing anything. They're just watching her," Prado said.

The dispatcher told the man to contact a doctor and then said paramedics won't pick up his wife because she already was in a hospital. Later, she told Prado to contact county police officers at a security desk.

Experts have said Rodriguez could have survived had she been treated early enough. The head of the county's Department of Health Services, which oversees the facility, has called her death "inexcusable."

A second 911 call was placed eight minutes later by a woman bystander who requested that an ambulance be sent to take Rodriguez to some other hospital for care.

"She's definitely sick and there's a guy that's ignoring her," the woman told a different dispatcher.

During the brief call, the dispatcher argued with the woman over whether there really was an emergency.

"I cannot do anything for you for the quality of the hospital. ... It is not an emergency. It is not an emergency, ma'am," he said.

"You're not here to see how they're treating her," the woman replied.

The dispatcher refused to call paramedics and told the woman that she should contact hospital supervisors "and let them know" if she is unhappy.

"May God strike you, too, for acting the way you just acted," the woman said finally.

"No, negative ma'am, you're the one," he said.

"What's real confusing … was that she was at a medical facility," Sheriff's Capt. Steven M. Roller, who is in charge of the Century Station, which handled the calls, told the Times. "That poses some real quandaries."

Roller told the Times that the second dispatcher's tone was inappropriate.

"As a station commander, I don't like any of my employees getting rude or nasty with any caller, regardless, and in that particular case, obviously, the employee's conduct could have been better," Roller said, telling the Times the employee received written "counseling."

Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital formerly was known as Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center. The name was changed as part of a reorganization after years of problems including patient deaths blamed on sloppy nursing care and hospital mismanagement that has threatened its federal funding.

[MadtownPacker]

Something the article doesn't mention and makes the whole story even more outrageous is that during all the commotion the hospital's security was contacted. For whatever reason they ran a check on the woman's name and it turned out she had a probation violation warrant. So they call the cops, who get to the ER, put the woman in a wheelchair and take her to their squad car.

When they tried to get her to get in the squad car they realized she was dead!

[PackerBlues]

unreal and disgusting.

[Freak Out]

Something the article doesn't mention and makes the whole story even more outrageous is that during all the commotion the hospital's security was contacted. For whatever reason they ran a check on the woman's name and it turned out she had a probation violation warrant. So they call the cops, who get to the ER, put the woman in a wheelchair and take her to their squad car.

When they tried to get her to get in the squad car they realized she was dead!

You have to be fucking kidding?

[MJZiggy]

I can't wait to hear the statement from the hospital CEO. Heads had better roll.

[Partial]

the 911 calls were even worse. It seems like the hospital didn't have anyone available to treat her because the doctors were working on other serious things.

The hospital called 911 to get her to another facility and they outright said no.

[packinpatland]

More serious than a dying woman?????

[Partial]

More serious than a dying woman?????

Evidentally. I am not sure. But I have a hunch the 911 people are feeling very bad today.

[GrnBay007]

What a sad, disgusting story. Thing is many people don't believe this stuff happens.

[MJZiggy]

More serious than a dying woman?????

Evidentally. I am not sure. But I have a hunch the 911 people are feeling very bad today.

Maybe so, but SHE WAS IN A HOSPITAL!!!!! IN THE ER!!!! If she's dying, they don't have time to get her to another place anyway.

[Partial]

More serious than a dying woman?????

Evidentally. I am not sure. But I have a hunch the 911 people are feeling very bad today.

Maybe so, but SHE WAS IN A HOSPITAL!!!!! IN THE ER!!!! If she's dying, they don't have time to get her to another place anyway.

I am not sure on the specifics but I feel like she was hanging in the balance for an hour or two. I think it was an hour after the hospital phoned 911 that she passed on.

[MJZiggy]

I didn't read a thing in this article about the hospital calling 911. Hospitals can get that shit done if they want to. The article talked about the boyfriend and a woman who was just amazed at what was going on. There is no excuse for a patient to EVER die in a hospital due to lack of care. EVER. If she's bleeding from the mouth, a doctor, resident, nurse ANYONE should have triaged her and gotten a consultation.

[MJZiggy]

LA Hospital Death Under Investigation
May 15, 2007 - 3:09pm

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Relatives of a 43-year-old woman say hospital workers did nothing as she writhed in pain on the emergency room floor, and that officers who were asked to help arrested her on a parole violation instead.

The woman became unresponsive as police carted her away in a wheelchair and died.

County and state authorities are now investigating the May 8 death of Edith Isabel Rodriguez at Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital, formerly called King/Drew, where several patients have died under questionable circumstances since 2003.

Recent scandals have caused the hospital to lose its national accreditation and federal funding, close its trauma center and shut its programs to train aspiring physician specialists.

Rodriguez had been prescribed pain medication for intense abdominal pain and released, but she remained on the benches outside the hospital, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday. Her boyfriend, Jose Prado, arrived later to find Rodriguez on the floor of the emergency room lobby writhing in pain, relatives said. He asked hospital staff for help, relatives said, then called 911 from a pay phone.

Hospital video cameras captured some of the incident, the newspaper reported.

"Nobody wanted to help him," said Rodriguez' sister, Marcela Sanchez. "When he tapped on the windows to tell the nurses that she needed help and that she was on the floor, they didn't want to pay attention to him."

Prado said he told hospital security officers she needed help, but police instead took Rodriguez into custody after a computer search showed an outstanding arrest warrant for a parole violation. She became unresponsive as officers pushed her out of the hospital in a wheelchair, he said.

The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, which operates the hospital, said it was unable to immediately comment on the death.

"It was an unexpected death ... We're waiting for the facts to be revealed," spokesman Michael Wilson said Tuesday. He said the videotape could not be made public because of patient privacy laws.

Sheriff's Capt. Ray Peavy said sheriff's homicide detectives attended Rodriguez's autopsy over the weekend; as a matter of policy, the department investigates any in-custody death. The state Department of Health Services is also investigating.

Craig Harvey, coroner's office chief of investigations, said the initial report to his agency said a woman walked into the emergency room, collapsed and died. Only days later did the coroner learn Rodriguez was in custody. Results from her autopsy were pending.

The coroner's office described Rodriguez as a transient with a history of illicit drug use. Her family said she was trying to put her life together.

In the days leading to her death, Rodriguez was treated several times for severe abdominal pain and released, the Times reported.

(Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Relatives of a 43-year-old woman say hospital workers did nothing as she writhed in pain on the emergency room floor, and that officers who were asked to help arrested her on a parole violation instead.

The woman became unresponsive as police carted her away in a wheelchair and died.

County and state authorities are now investigating the May 8 death of Edith Isabel Rodriguez at Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital, formerly called King/Drew, where several patients have died under questionable circumstances since 2003.

Recent scandals have caused the hospital to lose its national accreditation and federal funding, close its trauma center and shut its programs to train aspiring physician specialists.

Rodriguez had been prescribed pain medication for intense abdominal pain and released, but she remained on the benches outside the hospital, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday. Her boyfriend, Jose Prado, arrived later to find Rodriguez on the floor of the emergency room lobby writhing in pain, relatives said. He asked hospital staff for help, relatives said, then called 911 from a pay phone.

Hospital video cameras captured some of the incident, the newspaper reported.

"Nobody wanted to help him," said Rodriguez' sister, Marcela Sanchez. "When he tapped on the windows to tell the nurses that she needed help and that she was on the floor, they didn't want to pay attention to him."

Prado said he told hospital security officers she needed help, but police instead took Rodriguez into custody after a computer search showed an outstanding arrest warrant for a parole violation. She became unresponsive as officers pushed her out of the hospital in a wheelchair, he said.

The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, which operates the hospital, said it was unable to immediately comment on the death.

"It was an unexpected death ... We're waiting for the facts to be revealed," spokesman Michael Wilson said Tuesday. He said the videotape could not be made public because of patient privacy laws.

Sheriff's Capt. Ray Peavy said sheriff's homicide detectives attended Rodriguez's autopsy over the weekend; as a matter of policy, the department investigates any in-custody death. The state Department of Health Services is also investigating.

Craig Harvey, coroner's office chief of investigations, said the initial report to his agency said a woman walked into the emergency room, collapsed and died. Only days later did the coroner learn Rodriguez was in custody. Results from her autopsy were pending.

The coroner's office described Rodriguez as a transient with a history of illicit drug use. Her family said she was trying to put her life together.

In the days leading to her death, Rodriguez was treated several times for severe abdominal pain and released, the Times reported.

[GrnBay007]

Very, very sad and absolutely NO excuse for this happening. I'm not one to cheer for lawsuits but in this case not only should the hospital be sued but also the staff on duty at the time need to be held accountable in some manner.....and the police for worrying about a damn warrant rather than a person's life. But in the end it all doesn't matter.....a woman lost her life due to ridiculous circumstances and nothing can ease the pain of her loved ones.

[MJZiggy]

You're right. THIS one might be worth the $65 million...

[HarveyWallbangers]

Tragic negligence.

I wonder if the nurses/dispatchers thought the woman was faking it. The article says she was a transient drug abuser who was treated and released several times in the days leading up to her death. I wonder if they thought she was just trying to get more prescription drugs or something. I doubt they thought she was seriously ill. We can all cry foul, but the people working there are people just like you and I--who made a tragic mistake.

Whomever diagnosed her is in trouble also. It's a tough field. For them, they can't be wrong once.

[MJZiggy]

Tragic negligence.

I doubt they thought she was seriously ill.


Bleeding from the mouth is always serious unless you've just been punched...

[HarveyWallbangers]

Tragic negligence.

I doubt they thought she was seriously ill.


Bleeding from the mouth is always serious unless you've just been punched...

I think there was negligence. I'm just trying to figure out what happened. It says she was bleeding from the mouth, but I haven't heard the tapes, so I don't know what the called made clear to the dispatchers. The nurses apparently weren't there to see the bleeding.

I'm just thinking the woman came in numerous times in the previous days, was diagnosed (presumably by a doctor), and was released. I wasn't there. I'm just trying to remain fair, and think of why it happened. The woman's family will and should get money, but that money won't bring her back and the hospital will just pass on the costs to others. The better question is to determine why it happened and try to ensure it wouldn't happen again. Was it something that was hard to diagnose, or should the doctors have figured it out?

ON A SIDE NOTE: I just read the dispatcher's back-and-forth in the first article. That woman is in trouble. Flavor Flav comes to mind. I have a cousin who works as a dispatcher. That's a tough job, but you need to remain professional and assume the worst at all times.

[GrnBay007]

We can all cry foul, but the people working there are people just like you and I--who made a tragic mistake.



This is true. These people are human and do make mistakes....however, there are some professions that "mistakes" in a manner as serious as this do cost them their job....and maybe their chosen profession. When you work in a profession such as that you always error on the side of caution. Always think of the worst that could happen and act from that perspective.

[HarveyWallbangers]

This is true. These people are human and do make mistakes....however, there are some professions that "mistakes" in a manner as serious as this do cost them their job....and maybe their chosen profession. When you work in a profession such as that you always error on the side of caution. Always think of the worst that could happen and act from that perspective.

Definitely.

[packinpatland]

This can not be classified as 'mistakes' made.

Goes way beyond. I'm not sure there's a word that can adequately describe what happened. But not mistakes.

[PackerBlues]

Hmmmm, this story reminds me of a lot of the stories in Moores movie "Sicko". :beat: She probably didn't have health insurance, so they refused to treat her. Its not any different from the story in Sicko, where the woman called 911 because her daughter had a fever of over 104. An ambulance came and took her daughter to the nearest hospital. The hospital checked with her HMO, and they were told that Kaiser would not pay for the tests and anti-biotics necessary to treat her daughter at that hospital. So, the Hospital refused to treat her, saying that she would have to take her daughter to an "in-network" Kaiser hospital. Her daughter suffered a seizure at that first hospital, yet they still refused to treat her, then went so far as to "escort" the crying mother out of the hospital, saying they felt that she was a "threat". The mother had to take her daughter to a Kaiser Hospital by car, and her daughter went into cardiac arrest and died by the time she got there.
She had insurance. It did her no good. How is that for a kick in the ass? :butt: Only in America. :flag: