http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19207050/

Woman dies in ER lobby as 911 refuses to help
Tapes show operators ignored pleas to send ambulance to L.A. hospital

Quote :

"The Associated Press Updated: 10:43 a.m. ET June 13, 2007 LOS ANGELES - A woman who lay bleeding on the emergency room floor of a troubled inner-city hospital died after 911 dispatchers refused to contact paramedics or an ambulance to take her to another facility, newly released tapes of the emergency calls reveal. Edith Isabel Rodriguez, 43, 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. Relatives said Rodriguez was bleeding from the mouth and writhing in pain for 45 minutes while she was at a hospital waiting area. Experts have said she could have survived had she been treated early enough. County and state authorities are now investigating Rodriguez’s death. Relatives reported she died as police were wheeling her out of the hospital after the officers they had asked to help Rodriguez arrested her instead on a parole violation. Sheriff’s Department spokesman Duane Allen said Wednesday that the investigation is ongoing. In the recordings of two 911 calls that day, first obtained by the Los Angeles Times under a California Public Records Act request, callers pleaded for help for Rodriguez but were referred to hospital staff instead. “I’m in the emergency room. My wife is dying and the nurses don’t want to help her out,” Rodriguez’s boyfriend, Jose Prado, is heard saying in Spanish through an interpreter on the tapes. “What’s wrong with her?” a female dispatcher asked. “She’s vomiting blood,” Prado said. “OK, and why aren’t they helping her?” the dispatcher asked. ‘They’re just watching her’ “They’re watching her there and they’re not doing anything. They’re just watching her,” Prado said. The dispatcher told Prado to contact a doctor and then said paramedics wouldn’t pick her up because she was already in a hospital. She later told him to contact county police officers at a security desk. A second 911 call was placed eight minutes later by a bystander who requested that an ambulance be sent to take Rodriguez to another hospital for care. “She’s definitely sick and there’s a guy that’s ignoring her,” the woman told a male dispatcher. During the 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’ “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. The incident was the latest high-profile lapse at King-Harbor, formerly known as King/Drew. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is investigating claims of recent patient care breakdowns, including Rodriguez’s case. Federal inspectors last week said emergency room patients were in “immediate jeopardy” of harm or death, and King-Harbor was given 23 days to shape up or risk losing federal funding. ‘Fundamentally a failure of caring’ Dr. Bruce Chernof, director of the county Department of Health Services, which oversees the facility, has called Rodriguez’s death “inexcusable” and said it was “important to understand that this was fundamentally a failure of caring.” He has said conditions are improving, though. A call Wednesday seeking comment about the 911 tapes from the department’s communications office, which handles information about the hospital, was not immediately returned. Dr. Roger Peeks, the chief medical officer at the hospital, was placed on “ordered absence” Monday, the Times reported. Health officials declined to elaborate, saying it was a personnel matter. Dr. Robert Splawn, chief medical officer for the health department, was named interim chief medical officer, the newspaper said."

Wow, I am speechless.

6/14/2007 1:51:29 AM

6/14/2007 1:56:28 AM

Rodriguez, that explains it (those who have insurance first).

It's a shame but shit like this happens a lot. However, there gonna get sued like no tommorow for this.

6/14/2007 2:02:32 AM

USA #1

6/14/2007 2:13:29 AM

[old]

[Edited on June 14, 2007 at 2:16 AM. Reason : read this at noon]

6/14/2007 2:16:33 AM

This is kind of a weird story...

Generally, you would think from the rules of triage, you wouldn't send an ambulance to a hospital to take someone to another hospital. But this may be a common or accepted practice that I don't know about.

But, if someone is dying, you would also think that hospital staff would rush to help them... esp. if they're vomiting blood. I know someone who was in an ER waiting room for a fever, and he passed out, and the nurses rushed in and started treating him immediately.

And, these people seemed like they were here legally, but denying care to illegals is what a lot of people want to have happen. This type of thing would be common in that case.

6/14/2007 2:19:40 AM

Quienes Somos
“Su abogado de Confianza”

Las Oficinas de James Scott Farrin fueron fundadas en el año de 1997, con el fin de ayudar a todas aquellas personas que han resultado lesionadas a recibir la compensación que por ley se merecen. Aquella firma legal que empezó con solo 2 empleados y 30 clientes, ahora cuenta con mas de 90 empleados y miles de clientes. Hemos resuelto casos de Lesión Personal de alto perfil, que hasta han sido cubiertos por los noticieros.

Así como hemos crecido, así también nos hemos esforzado por mantenernos con los principios y valores con los que esta firma fue fundada, combinando una representación con calidad con un servicio excepcional. Cualquiera que sea el tamaño del caso, nosotros creemos que se merece la mejor representación y servicio que podamos ofrecer. Debido a nuestros valores, integridad, profesionalismo y nuestro compromiso con la comunidad Latina. En las Oficinas de James Scott Farrin trataremos de asegurarnos que aquellas personas que contratamos cuenten con estos principios y así poder asegurarles a nuestros clientes el mejor servicio en español disponible por parte de nuestro equipo.

6/14/2007 2:27:25 AM

God, where were when this was happening?

6/14/2007 2:28:15 AM

I only help White Americans, sorry.

6/14/2007 2:37:21 AM

there's more to this story.


not saying its excusable, because its not, its pretty horrific.

She was just treated and released an hour before, she just didnt leave the hospital, she sat in the waiting room and screamed. They thought she was just having a fit because the drugs stopped coming. She was what is known as a "frequent flyer."


Unfortunately this is what happens when you cry wolf too many times.


Also earlier reports mentioned NOTHING about vomiting blood, so it seems someone's story is changing.

6/14/2007 5:41:55 AM

Quote :

"“No, negative ma’am, you’re the one,” he said."

what kind of reply is that? it doesnt even make sense.

6/14/2007 6:11:52 AM

I think any anger directed towards the 911 operator is misplaced. The majority of the article focuses on the 911 calls as opposed to the fact that a woman in an emergency room received no care from hospital staff. The 911 operator told both callers to either find a supervisor/patient advocate or contact hospital security. That is not an unreasonable response. Hospital staff ignoring people in the emergency room (^^ other things notwithstanding) is unreasonable.


I do also wonder what the other side of the story is. She died while the police were carrying her out of the hospital. I would imagine that, as a general rule, police are going to consult hospital staff before carrying someone out of the emergency room. I'd like to know if that actually happened and, if so, what the hospital staff said. Of course, there's also the fact that the hospital was already on the shitlist.

[Edited on June 14, 2007 at 6:25 AM. Reason : ]

6/14/2007 6:24:44 AM

^^^

Im going to have to go ahead and agree with you, I can't imagine that they would simply ignore someone without having at least some reason, and if they treated her before and she was constantly on drugs, i can see why they would be skeptical of her cries for help, assuming this was the case.

6/14/2007 7:17:21 AM

I knew that had to be more to the story...what are your sources, brainysmurf?

6/14/2007 9:07:47 AM

Guess that whole "I will apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures [that] are required" part of the Hippocratic Oath doesn't really mean much to the doctors at King-Harbor Hospital...

6/14/2007 9:46:49 AM

did she pay taxes? was she a 'frequent flier' ?

6/14/2007 10:01:12 AM

Were there more urgent cases being tended to by the hospital staff?

We're left to assume nothing else important was going on in the ER, and that a bunch of doctors and nurses were standing around the water-cooler shooting the breeze while this woman made a scene.

Was she a frequent flier?

This report/article is horribly incomplete and pretty biased.

Too much speculation to be had.

6/14/2007 10:24:32 AM

i do not think the 911 operator did anything wrong. The woman was already at a hospital there is not much excuse as to why that stuff couldn't treat her.

Although Uncle Darwin says if she doesn't have health insurance or pay taxes then to quote a Tupac song "That is just the way it is"

[Edited on June 14, 2007 at 10:27 AM. Reason : l]

6/14/2007 10:26:37 AM

Quote :

"i do not think the 911 operator did anything wrong."

lol

6/14/2007 10:28:32 AM

Quote :

"i do not think the 911 operator did anything wrong. The woman was already at a hospital "

6/14/2007 10:29:19 AM

i don't think the 911 operator did anything wrong

6/14/2007 10:33:42 AM

911 operator did nothing wrong, but should have been more open-minded.

6/14/2007 11:27:05 AM

6/14/2007 11:29:35 AM

911 operator was a dick, but she was at the hospital already.

6/14/2007 1:17:40 PM

i bet they get fired

6/14/2007 1:18:57 PM

thank god wake county isnt like that.....we have one of the best revival rates in the country

6/14/2007 1:41:20 PM

how the hell do you perforate a bowel???

Quote :

"was she a frequent flier?"

Relatives reported she died as police were wheeling her out of the hospital after the officers they had asked to help Rodriguez arrested her instead on a parole violation.

Sounds like they knew who she was....

6/14/2007 1:47:42 PM

wow

shit like this amazes me

6/14/2007 2:24:03 PM

Quote :

"how the hell do you perforate a bowel???"

Foreign objects are a common method.
Also, extended (and possibly heavy?) use of narcotics weaken parts of your body. One of my friends had MS and had been on them for AGES for pain. When she went in for an ileostomy, pounds and pounds of waste were loose in her abdominal cavity. Her intestines were so weak they had all but dissolved.

She died of septecemia, although not in that operation.



[Edited on June 14, 2007 at 2:34 PM. Reason : lkjd]

6/14/2007 2:30:43 PM

^also, colitis, ulcers, appendicitis are possibilities.

Narcotics tend to cause constipation, so yes, extended use can result in a buildup of stool. The increased pressure can then result in perforation. With any case of bowel obstruction, you have to be careful about using laxatives that could result in further damage.

[Edited on June 14, 2007 at 2:50 PM. Reason : ]

6/14/2007 2:45:18 PM

Quote :

"Guess that whole "I will apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures [that] are required" part of the Hippocratic Oath doesn't really mean much to the doctors at King-Harbor Hospital..."

To be fair to the doctors...I doubt they ever saw her. If you've ever taken someone to the ER and just sat there for hours while no patients were called from the waiting room you'd understand. I'm guessing the docs were dealing with people that came in on stretchers, but it still sucks sitting there for hours while someone is in pain.

Quote :

"how the hell do you perforate a bowel???"

I'm guessing diverticulitis or, as someone else mentioned, weakened bowels from heavy drug use. Even NSAIDs such as Advil and Alleve can cause hefty damage to the GI tract when used frequently. I'd never want to have to take them daily, although a lot of people do.

6/14/2007 3:09:23 PM

Quote :

"Were there more urgent cases being tended to by the hospital staff? We're left to assume nothing else important was going on in the ER, and that a bunch of doctors and nurses were standing around the water-cooler shooting the breeze while this woman made a scene."

Someone throwing up blood and writhing in pain seems pretty urgent.

6/14/2007 3:17:24 PM

Sure, but that's not to say that even more urgent shit was happening elsewhere.

6/14/2007 3:21:49 PM

I know that my situation wasn't as urgent as this, but I had a kidney stone once and waited for 2.5 hours at the hospital. Anyone who has ever had a kidney stone knows the pain I am talking about...

[Edited on June 14, 2007 at 5:53 PM. Reason : Vx2 isn't that the truth]

6/14/2007 5:44:22 PM

who would have thought a hospital named after MLK would be in a troubled area?

[Edited on June 14, 2007 at 5:50 PM. Reason : ed]

6/14/2007 5:50:05 PM

Fuck kidney stones, i wouldnt wish that shit on my worst enemy.

6/14/2007 5:50:52 PM

Quote :

"i bet they get fired"

massive understatement

6/14/2007 5:52:41 PM

if she was an illegal alien, she doesnt need to be in a california hospital to begin with.

6/14/2007 5:58:21 PM

Quote :

"Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital"

6/14/2007 6:08:18 PM

the whole ER system needs to be fixed. it is so damn dumb for them to waste time/resources like they do. i had to take my wife (we found out she's bipolar) and they had us wait for 6 hours so they could have a specialist drive down from winston... when he got there and said where he'd come from i was in shock and said why the hell didnt they just tell me to head up that way it would have only taken me like 45min to get there instead of wasting all that time on his and my end.

6/14/2007 6:09:53 PM

i agree, i dont understand how the system is logical

but at the sametime there has to be a reason that a better system isnt in place

6/14/2007 6:15:06 PM

stupidity?

6/14/2007 6:16:02 PM

nah not that one

the thought of someone sitting in a chair bleeding to death next to a TB patient and a crackfiend doesnt assure me that the best plan is in place, but at the same time i have to think it wasnt meant to be that way

6/14/2007 6:18:50 PM

This thread is worthless without pics.

6/14/2007 6:26:43 PM

I can't believe there are so many people in this thread defending the hospital and 911 operator. I bet next time you have an emergency you'll feel differently.

6/14/2007 7:48:21 PM

yeah i was quite sickened by it also

6/14/2007 7:49:33 PM

I had to wait 4 hours in the ER when I had appendicitis.

6/14/2007 7:55:15 PM

^^^it's hard to blame the 911 operator. Their job is to get the patient transportation to a hospital...but she was already there. Once at the hospital it would be the ED's job to determine if she needed to be transferred elsewhere (but as she had already been discharged from the ED, that again complicates things).

As for the hospital, it's hard to judge what happened from one article. Obviously they missed something, but without knowing all the details it's pretty difficult to assign fault.

6/14/2007 7:57:07 PM

Quote :

"I can't believe there are so many people in this thread defending the hospital and 911 operator. I bet next time you have an emergency you'll feel differently."

*************************

Quote :

"This thread is worthless without pics."

6/14/2007 7:57:42 PM

The article says the dispatcher argued with her over whether there was an emergency. I'm pretty sure their job is to send help asap, let other people figure out if it is an emergency or not. If I am dying I sure as hell don't want to be told to "talk to a supervisor". Especially with this hospitals track record. He REFUSED to call paramedics. I hope he loses his job.

6/14/2007 8:14:09 PM