Woman dies in ER lobby as 911 refuses to help
SuzannePjam
Posts: 411
This is just outrageous. I'm really looking forward to seeing Michael Moore's new movie. People are treated like garbage in low income areas because of health care coverage situations, poor facilities and a lack of compassion.
Woman dies in ER lobby as 911 refuses to help
Tapes show operators ignored pleas to send ambulance to L.A. hospital
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.
Woman dies in ER lobby as 911 refuses to help
Tapes show operators ignored pleas to send ambulance to L.A. hospital
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.
"Where there is sacrifice there is someone collecting the sacrificial offerings."-- Ayn Rand
"Some of my friends sit around every evening and they worry about the times ahead,
But everybody else is overwhelmed by indifference and the promise of an early bed..."-- Elvis Costello
"Some of my friends sit around every evening and they worry about the times ahead,
But everybody else is overwhelmed by indifference and the promise of an early bed..."-- Elvis Costello
Post edited by Unknown User on
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Comments
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You would get better care in a 3rd world hospital with a dirt floor. That's just f-ing ridiculous to the point of being sadistic.
pathetic...Progress is not made by everyone joining some new fad,
and reveling in it's loyalty. It's made by forming coalitions
over specific principles, goals, and policies.
http://i36.tinypic.com/66j31x.jpg
(\__/)
( o.O)
(")_(")0 -
RolandTD20Kdrummer wrote:You would get better care in a 3rd world hospital with a dirt floor. That's just f-ing ridiculous to the point of being
sadistic.
Wrong. This is an anomoly. Dying on a dirt floor of a 3rd world hospital is a daily occurrance.RolandTD20Kdrummer wrote:pathetic...
Agreed. This is tragic, and hopefully staff will be held accountable."I'll use the magic word - let's just shut the fuck up, please." EV, 04/13/080 -
jeffbr wrote:Wrong. This is an anomoly. Dying on a dirt floor of a 3rd world hospital is a daily occurrance.
Yeah well at least they'd put a cold facecloth on your head or hold your hand or something ...anything....like that... not just watch you die and do zip like a freakshow...Progress is not made by everyone joining some new fad,
and reveling in it's loyalty. It's made by forming coalitions
over specific principles, goals, and policies.
http://i36.tinypic.com/66j31x.jpg
(\__/)
( o.O)
(")_(")0 -
Hey, those people helped out in the movie Babel. I know it's just a movie but you'd be surprised at how people who generally are viewed as hating us will separate us from our government and help us out in a time of need. Jessica Lynch?If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you.
Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.
-Oscar Wilde0 -
Abookamongstthemany wrote:Hey, those people helped out in the movie Babel. I know it's just a movie but you'd be surprised at how people who generally are viewed as hating us will separate us from our government and help us out in a time of need. Jessica Lynch?
Hahaha...you mention Babel??? That's classic.
This is fucking disgusting. Not really sure it's 911 refusing to help...she was AT A HOSPITAL!!! It's all on the hosital in my opinion...from the little info we have here.hippiemom = goodness0 -
cincybearcat wrote:Hahaha...you mention Babel??? That's classic.
This is fucking disgusting. Not really sure it's 911 refusing to help...she was AT A HOSPITAL!!! It's all on the hosital in my opinion...from the little info we have here.
Oh shut it cincy! I know it's just a movie but still.....:pIf you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you.
Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.
-Oscar Wilde0 -
It must be bad if you're in a hospital and you call 9/11 for an ambulance to take you to another hospital because no one will help you in a life/death scenario.
vomiting blood and writhing in pain is definitely not good and casual...
The guy made the wrong decision. I would have grabbed someone (nurse/doctor) by the hair and dragged them if necessary.
Well the husband is about to win a huge lawsuit I suppose...
who knows maybe he did something to her and is looking to strike it rich...it is America afterall...Progress is not made by everyone joining some new fad,
and reveling in it's loyalty. It's made by forming coalitions
over specific principles, goals, and policies.
http://i36.tinypic.com/66j31x.jpg
(\__/)
( o.O)
(")_(")0 -
SuzannePjam wrote:This is just outrageous. I'm really looking forward to seeing Michael Moore's new movie. People are treated like garbage in low income areas because of health care coverage situations, poor facilities and a lack of compassion.
Woman dies in ER lobby as 911 refuses to help
Tapes show operators ignored pleas to send ambulance to L.A. hospital
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.
yeah....
what's impressive is that you quote ayn rand in your sig
And you ask me what I want this year
And I try to make this kind and clear
Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days
Cuz I don't need boxes wrapped in strings
And desire and love and empty things
Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days0 -
land of the rich and the home of the brave.this guy will get at least 10 mil maybe even moreRolandTD20Kdrummer wrote:Well the husband is about to win a huge lawsuit I suppose...
who knows maybe he did something to her and is looking to strike it rich...it is America afterall...Ron: I just don't feel like going out tonight
Sammi: Wanna just break up?0 -
I agree... emergency services I'm sure are busy enough than to deal with calls like that. You call them to BRING you to a hospital, then their job is done and it's over to the hospital to deal with it... right or wrong, good or bad, you can't blame them if they refuse to act as a taxi service. If I was the operator, I'd be thinking 'fuck off, you're already IN hospital, everyone has to wait'cincybearcat wrote:
This is fucking disgusting. Not really sure it's 911 refusing to help...she was AT A HOSPITAL!!! It's all on the hosital in my opinion...from the little info we have here.The Astoria??? Orgazmic!
Verona??? it's all surmountable
Dublin 23.08.06 "The beauty of Ireland, right there!"
Wembley? We all believe!
Copenhagen?? your light made us stars
Chicago 07? And love
What a different life
Had I not found this love with you0 -
Nice!You've changed your place in this world!0
-
Emergency rooms in most metropolitan areas are in a crisis. Even those not in high crime areas are experiencing overcrowding. One of the big problems is that people with no insurance use the ER as a first resort for care. Many of these people could be treated in urgent care centers, but urgent care facilities require insurance.
http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2007/02_06-29/GOV
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/14/AR2006061402166.htmlThe greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance,
but the illusion of knowledge.
~Daniel Boorstin
Only a life lived for others is worth living.
~Albert Einstein0 -
baraka wrote:Emergency rooms in most metropolitan areas are in a crisis. Even those not in high crime areas are experiencing overcrowding. One of the big problems is that people with no insurance use the ER as a first resort for care. Many of these people could be treated in urgent care centers, but urgent care facilities require insurance.
http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2007/02_06-29/GOV
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/14/AR2006061402166.html
It is indeed a crisis... I am looking forward to see how the new Massachusetts law changes things. From what I remember, July 1st is the day that everyone by law will have to have health insurance. Hopefully this takes a burden off of our ER's, and helps the overall health of the residents (with preventative care).My whole life
was like a picture
of a sunny day
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
― Abraham Lincoln0 -
Heineken Helen wrote:I agree... emergency services I'm sure are busy enough than to deal with calls like that. You call them to BRING you to a hospital, then their job is done and it's over to the hospital to deal with it... right or wrong, good or bad, you can't blame them if they refuse to act as a taxi service. If I was the operator, I'd be thinking 'fuck off, you're already IN hospital, everyone has to wait'
Exactly... everyone is blaming 911 but they are helpless in this situation. This is totally the hospital's fault and they should be held totally responsible.This is your notice that there is a problem with your signature. Please remove it.
Admin
Social awareness does not equal political activism!
5/23/2011- An utter embarrassment... ticketing failures too many to list.0 -
Yep, why isn't the title 'as ER staff refuse to help'?chromiam wrote:Exactly... everyone is blaming 911 but they are helpless in this situation. This is totally the hospital's fault and they should be held totally responsible.
Did they want the operator to physically go over there and help the woman? Or what if they bring her to another hospital and they don't like it there? do they just ferry her around all day? What can the operator do about it? They should have been harassing the medical staff who were THERE to help her rather than someone who has done their job. The Astoria??? Orgazmic!
Verona??? it's all surmountable
Dublin 23.08.06 "The beauty of Ireland, right there!"
Wembley? We all believe!
Copenhagen?? your light made us stars
Chicago 07? And love
What a different life
Had I not found this love with you0 -
chromiam wrote:Exactly... everyone is blaming 911 but they are helpless in this situation. This is totally the hospital's fault and they should be held totally responsible.
I agree... the only thing that I wonder, is if the 911 operator should have maybe put a call into the hospital or told a supervisor to maybe check on the situation... I guess this depends too if the different operators knew of the other calls. I can't imagine the weird calls they get, and kind of blowing off a call from a person already at a hospital wouldn't seem that big of a deal at the time.My whole life
was like a picture
of a sunny day
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
― Abraham Lincoln0 -
blackredyellow wrote:It is indeed a crisis... I am looking forward to see how the new Massachusetts law changes things. From what I remember, July 1st is the day that everyone by law will have to have health insurance. Hopefully this takes a burden off of our ER's, and helps the overall health of the residents (with preventative care).
Yes, I'll be interested in seeing if this will give the ERs some relief.
Ha ha, while I'm on my health care soap box I'll mention another concern. To me, it appears to be sheer folly to assume that an increasingly for profit system of health care delivery is in our collective best interests. A lot of docs are finding the business increasingly distasteful and opting to bail altogether. I know a few docs that no longer do inpatient care on account of not wanting to set aside an hour or more a day to argue with some HMO doc sitting 1500 miles away as to why Mrs Jones needs to be in the hospital another day. If the docs chose to ignore the HMO, they eat the bill. But here's the other side of the dilemma: if they choose to follow their 'mandate', only the doc and the hospital are liable in the event of a bad outcome. Does this make sense to anyone other than the people running or profiting from the HMO?The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance,
but the illusion of knowledge.
~Daniel Boorstin
Only a life lived for others is worth living.
~Albert Einstein0 -
metsfan531941 wrote:land of the rich and the home of the brave.this guy will get at least 10 mil maybe even more
i would certainly hope so, but not so sure. The man refers to the woman as his wife, but the text of the article refers to him as a "boyfriend". i'm not a lawyer so i don't know the legal reprecussions of this.
SOMEONE should get paid. Thats for sure."When all your friends and sedatives mean well but make it worse... better find yourself a place to level out."0 -
cornnifer wrote:i would certainly hope so, but not so sure. The man refers to the woman as his wife, but the text of the article refers to him as a "boyfriend". i'm not a lawyer so i don't know the legal reprecussions of this.
SOMEONE should get paid. Thats for sure.
If he's her boyfriend, then her FAMILY should get paid... not him.This is your notice that there is a problem with your signature. Please remove it.
Admin
Social awareness does not equal political activism!
5/23/2011- An utter embarrassment... ticketing failures too many to list.0 -
cornnifer wrote:i would certainly hope so, but not so sure. The man refers to the woman as his wife, but the text of the article refers to him as a "boyfriend". i'm not a lawyer so i don't know the legal reprecussions of this.
SOMEONE should get paid. Thats for sure.
flipping through the channels last night, one of the shows had the victim's two sisters on talking about it, so she does have some immediate family that will hopefully sue the shit out of that hospital that has had many problems in the past.
edit: It's just sad that we are talking about someone getting a big payday out of this when you consider that some person lost their life because of careless workers.My whole life
was like a picture
of a sunny day
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
― Abraham Lincoln0
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