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Tale of last 90 minutes of woman's life [Los Angeles' King Hospital ignores patient to death]
Los Angeles Times ^ | 20 May 2007 | Charles Ornstein

Posted on 05/20/2007 10:52:28 AM PDT by John Jorsett

In the emergency room at Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital, Edith Isabel Rodriguez was seen as a complainer.

"Thanks a lot, officers," an emergency room nurse told Los Angeles County police who brought in Rodriguez early May 9 after finding her in front of the Willowbrook hospital yelling for help. "This is her third time here."

The 43-year-old mother of three had been released from the emergency room hours earlier, her third visit in three days for abdominal pain. She'd been given prescription medication and a doctor's appointment.

Turning to Rodriguez, the nurse said, "You have already been seen, and there is nothing we can do," according to a report by the county office of public safety, which provides security at the hospital.

Parked in the emergency room lobby in a wheelchair after police left, she fell to the floor. She lay on the linoleum, writhing in pain, for 45 minutes, as staffers worked at their desks and numerous patients looked on.

Aside from one patient who briefly checked on her condition, no one helped her. A janitor cleaned the floor around her as if she were a piece of furniture. A closed-circuit camera captured everyone's apparent indifference.

Arriving to find Rodriguez on the floor, her boyfriend unsuccessfully tried to enlist help from the medical staff and county police — even a 911 dispatcher, who balked at sending rescuers to a hospital.

Alerted to the "disturbance" in the lobby, police stepped in — by running Rodriguez's record. They found an outstanding warrant and prepared to take her to jail. She died before she could be put into a squad car.

(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events; US: California
KEYWORDS: cruelty; furniture; lamlk; neglect; suit; viniusinvictus
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1 posted on 05/20/2007 10:52:30 AM PDT by John Jorsett
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To: John Jorsett
Later in the article is this compassionate statement by David Janssen, LA county's chief administrative officer:

Janssen said he was concerned that the incident would divert attention from preparing the hospital for a crucial review in six weeks that is to determine whether it can regain federal funding.

If the hospital fails, it could be forced to close.

"It certainly isn't going to help," Janssen said.

Gives you a lump in your throat, doesn't it?

2 posted on 05/20/2007 10:55:59 AM PDT by John Jorsett (scam never sleeps)
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To: John Jorsett

I don’t believe most of this report. I believe this is another attempt to build sympathy for illegals.


3 posted on 05/20/2007 10:56:45 AM PDT by calex59
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To: John Jorsett

When did they start the Hillarycare program at that hospital?


4 posted on 05/20/2007 10:57:56 AM PDT by Howard Jarvis Admirer (Howard Jarvis, the foe of the tax collector and friend of the California homeowner)
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To: calex59

it said she was a California native.


5 posted on 05/20/2007 10:59:40 AM PDT by Aria (NO RAPIST ENABELER FOR PRESIDENT!!!)
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To: John Jorsett

I have sympathy, but is there more to this story? Is there any previous history with this woman? If you cry wolf too often you can’t complain when people finally ignore you.

JUST ASKIN’ (I have leanred long ago to not accept one side of the story)


6 posted on 05/20/2007 11:00:08 AM PDT by Mr. K (Some days even my lucky rocketship underpants don't help)
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To: John Jorsett

You must think of the job loss in the “Community!” To hell with patients the issue being jobs for the social incompetents. Where are your priorities?


7 posted on 05/20/2007 11:01:42 AM PDT by AEMILIUS PAULUS (It is a shame that when these people give a riot)
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To: John Jorsett

Very disturbing. I wonder about the “boyfriend” taking a powder as this woman was being arrested. But of course, whatever her crime, death was not the penalty. And fine, blame the triage nurse, but she was not the only poerson present.


8 posted on 05/20/2007 11:02:08 AM PDT by jocon307 (The Silent Majority - silent no longer)
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To: Mr. K

I agree. If it doesn’t make sense....smells like a fish story to me.


9 posted on 05/20/2007 11:02:10 AM PDT by svcw (There is no plan B.)
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To: John Jorsett

I find this story hard to believe. Obviously a single payer government run VA like system will solve all of our nation’s health care problems. /s


10 posted on 05/20/2007 11:03:19 AM PDT by Maynerd
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To: John Jorsett

It’s a shame she didn’t try to go to a different hospital the second time around.


11 posted on 05/20/2007 11:03:20 AM PDT by toothfairy86
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To: John Jorsett

I find this story hard to believe. Obviously a single payer government run VA like system will solve all of our nation’s health care problems. /s


12 posted on 05/20/2007 11:03:38 AM PDT by Maynerd
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To: John Jorsett

There has to be more to this story than revealed in this article. I can’t imagine an ER staff just letting someone go like that. If this really happened as it was written, this lady’s next of kin is going to get a huge boost to their bank account.


13 posted on 05/20/2007 11:03:40 AM PDT by KoRn (Just Say NO ....To Liberal Republicans - FRED THOMPSON FOR PRESIDENT!)
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To: calex59

Illegal or not(it didn’t say that she was) hospital neglect does happen, and I’ve heard countless tales of other situations such as this one.


14 posted on 05/20/2007 11:04:14 AM PDT by Santa Fe_Conservative
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To: John Jorsett

And expect a big malpractice jackpot justice suit, which will only further reduce the funds for the collapsed ER system.

Believe it or not, LA had the top trauma care ER systems on earth 30 years ago. Now destroyed by illegal aliens, corrupt managed care, and crooked John Edwards shysters the system in LA (and soon the rest of the US) has totally disintegrated.

The dream of many doctors is to have nothing whatsoever to do with any unreimbursed malpractice nightmare ER.


15 posted on 05/20/2007 11:04:58 AM PDT by FormerACLUmember
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To: Santa Fe_Conservative

But not laying on the floor writhing.

This does sound fishy.

However if they have a security camera showing the woman on the floor and people walking around her that’s different.

But somehow I am suspicious.


16 posted on 05/20/2007 11:06:30 AM PDT by squarebarb
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To: 60Gunner

Ping for your perspective. Could this be a case of frequent flyer who never read the story of “the boy who cried wolf?” (not that it excuses the ER’s conduct). Would a facility such as yours conduct its own incident review of a nationally publicized incident such as this under the “there but for the competence of our staff goes us” premise?


17 posted on 05/20/2007 11:06:54 AM PDT by NonValueAdded (Fred Thompson in 2008 - there is no doubt about it!)
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Comment #18 Removed by Moderator

To: calex59
Having worked for yours in the Emergency Room of several large hospitals, I don't see it happening as told here, either. Of course there are things left out of the story.

I can tell you that so many of the people who use the ER as their doctor's office do learn to work the system. I can remember people walking in and faking heart attacks just to get to the front of the line--when, in actuality, they were suffering from some ailment like a sore throat. It's a very hard call, sometimes-and the fact that the lady had already been there 3 times that day tells me that A: the doctors who saw her misdiagnosed her or B: Something about her had given the ER personnel the idea that she wasn't really sick, that she was gaming the system, for whatever reason.

Either way, it's too bad the lady died---and will be interesting to see what the autopsy shows. If the ER personnel were negligent and either misdiagnosed or failed to diagnose what her problem was, that can be held against them. They will have to be able to show that the right tests were run, and that the results of the tests didn't show anything threatening.

19 posted on 05/20/2007 11:08:42 AM PDT by basil (Support the Second Amendment--buy another gun today!)
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To: calex59
A direct copy/paste from the story on the L.A. Times web site:

"Rodriguez, a California native, performed odd jobs and lived alternately with different relatives."

Why would you assume that the article is to garner sympathy and support for illegals if the poor woman, who was treated as an inconvenience, is a CA native?

20 posted on 05/20/2007 11:10:04 AM PDT by El Gran Salseron (The World-Famous, popular DJ and FReeper Canteen Certified, Equal-Opportunity, Male-Chauvinist-Pig!)
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