The Health of Health Care in the USA.

[Gerry]

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

To Paraphrase: Woman in ER holding area waiting to be seen, vomiting blood, being ignored by ER staff, two calls made to 911 from the waiting room, 911 dispatchers refuse to intervene and argues with the two people calling.

"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."

"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."

I can not imagine the pain and suffering she went though from this condition.

Damn, we don't even let dogs and cats and race horses suffer like that.

 

[Devil Dog]

Living out on the west coast for years, I've heard nothing but horrible things from MLK hospital. Matter of fact, I use to date a nurse who worked there and she even said the conditions there were horrible.

I don't trust ER's anyway though. When I was 15, I came down with a virus that I knew wasn't the flu. The ER staff insisted that it was the flu and sent me home with some Nyquil. I basically begged and pleaded with her to take me the family doc.

Sure enough, I had viral meningitis.... no thanks to the ER docs.

 

[Rockefeller]

I was just about to post this news article. This $hit makes me sick! There were two phone calls placed to 911 and they told them that it wasnt an emergency. Imagine how helpless those people felt! I hope her husband sues the $hit out of them. I cant believe this!

 

[Gerry]

I have worked with people who had perforated bowels. Imagine the absolute worst cramps possible or someone sticking a needle in your abdomen and just keeps pushing deeper. Now take that pain and multiply it times ten. And endure it for 45 minutes like the report states.

What is termed "bright red frank blood" is a warning sign of an emergent situation and should have been rushed to surgery immediately. I know that statement should make sense to everyone of us. But what in the hell where these people that were the staff members thinking? She's faking it?

That would have been her only chance. There is still no guarantee of success but that was the only chance and the only choice.

Helpless is not even conceivable to me in a situation like this...what essentially happened (my take) is the perforated bowel ruptured and she bled to death right before their eyes.

But it not just the ER staff...the police were wheeling her out? WTF? Was she in a wheel chair? Could they not see what was going on? Can you imagine the chaos? They are obligated to render assistance but yet they want to arrest her for a parole violation?

And the coroner called this an "accidental death"? How pathetic.

What the hell is going on out there in LA County? Is it not ironic that this would be the same Sheriff's department that permitted the unlawful release of poor little miss Hilton for an "undisclosed" alleged medical condition.

God forbid that anyone should have to die like this.