PATIENT IGNORED TO DEATH (KINGS COUNTY HOSPITAL OUTRAGE)

NY Post ^ | July 1, 2008 | LARRY CELONA, STEPHANIE COHEN and CATHY BURKE

[neverdem]

They callously ignored her.

Esmin Green is seen in these infuriating images collapsing on the psychiatric emergency-room floor at Kings County Hospital - stared at by one worker, ignored by a security guard, and finally nudged by a health-care staffer on June 19.

She lay there for an hour before doctors and nurses snapped to attention and tried to revive the 49-year-old Jamaica native.

It was too late.

The shocking video was released by lawyers suing KCH in federal court on an unrelated matter.

"I heard about it and it's horrible how she died like that," said Green's landlady, Beatrice Wallace, of East 94th Street in Brooklyn.

She'd lived there until just days before she died.

The needless death resulted in the immediate firings of the director of psychiatry, the doctor on duty and the director of security, said a spokeswoman for the city's Health and Hospitals Corp., which runs the municipal hospital.

Two nurses and a security guard were suspended pending hearings.

"We are all shocked and distressed by this situation," HHC President Alan D. Aviles said in a statement last night. "It is clear that some of our employees failed to act based on our compassionate standards of care."

He added that "as a result of this tragic incident, we will put into place additional and significant reforms" to protect psych patients.

A federal court order will be signed today, directing the hospital to assemble a search team to fill the spots of the fired staff, and establishing guidelines to reduce the waiting time at the emergency room.

HHC said Green was brought to the psychiatric e.r. by EMS medics on the morning of June 18, suffering from agitation and psychosis.

The patient refused medical review and was admitted against her will.

She was left in the e.r.,...

[neverdem]

McCain supporters hopeful for New York

FReepmail me if you want on or off my New York ping list.

[VOA]

P.S. It is a GOVERNMENT RUN HOSPITAL.

In a state that would elect Hillary Rodham Clinton as a Senator
AFTER 9-11.

Some much for that "Empire State" Bravo Sierra.

[grellis]

i am sure this woman was a known entity to this hospital. belligerent, drug-addicted, etc...

And you are sure of this because of some facts you read somewhere? Or is speculate the word you maybe mighta shoulda used?

[MoochPooch]

I live near Kings County Hospital, which unfortunately has had a bad reputation. The news about this person who was left neglected didn’t surprise me at all.

[ladyjane]

Your experience is similar to a friend of mine. For 5 days ahwnever got her face washed or teeth cleaned. The bed sheets weren’t changed and she was discharged - with two bedsores - and no one at her home to care for her. She couldn’t even walk.

I have another friend, a single guy who just happens to be a millionaire. He got a sponge bath every eight hours. The nurses were all over him. Coincidence? I think not.

[kittymyrib]

Government health care strikes again. Barry Hussein wants to guarantee this level of care for every citizen in the USA.
Feel better?

[Nathan Jr.]

It will be bone on bone for the rest of my life, rather than endure the horrible treatment again, that I suffered at the hands of uncaring, incompetent, health care workers.

OMG PLEASE don't settle for a lifetime of pain!! Please ask around, find out where the good hospitals are. They ARE out there, they just don't have the big name recognition of the mega hospitals that people are so attracted to. At small town hospitals, you tend to encounter workers who are extremely loyal, many of them who have been there for 20+ years. These hospitals don't suffer from the employee turnover rate/lack of pride that the mega hospitals are infected with. And since knee replacement surgery is fairly routine these days, you can be confident that even a smaller hospital can do the job competently.

I've worked in the health care industry for 17+ years now. I've also been a patient at hospitals big and small. I can tell you that there are great ones out there, but they are usually the ones that you've never heard of.

[cyborg]

What a horrible experience. I can tell you that would never happen in the place where I work. I’m a nurse aide and have never left anyone unattended in the shower. We aren’t even allowed to.

[cyborg]

I’m glad you are of sound mind and body.

[cyborg]

Oh my. Crack. You’re perfectly healthy and have all your marbles. Some people aren’t so lucky.

[cyborg]

Terrible. You aren’t SUPPOSED to discriminate in nursing care or healthcare in general for that matter. However, I’m not surprised to hear young single moneybags got better treatment. I’d rather not know such details about a patient actually. Some readily volunteer and I usually tell them it doesn’t matter. I take care of everyone just the same.

[yorkie]

Oh, my insurance was paying their salary - so they didn’t have to do a damned thing for me. Nada.

And, I was:

1. A classy lady
2. An intelligent lady
3. A lady that didn’t whine or yell or complain - (I just begged and pleaded)
4. An educated lady
5. A totally shocked and surprised lady - at the treatment I received.

And how was I discriminated against? I was weak - they were strong - and I had no choices but to take what I was given.

[maine-iac7]

the doctor's actions surprised me. the ones who work at these places are total bleeding hearts usually. which makes me think this doc knew this woman and simply dismissed this as an act.

or just maybe he dismissed it as "well, she finally fell asleep" = after having sat in a hard chair for 24 hours = and, according to the report, patients were sometimes left even longer.

Try sitting for 24 hours in a chair like that - probably without food or water...and see if you might roll off, inable to keep awake.

[cyborg]

Wow I don’t know what to say except to report them to the Department of Health :(

[yorkie]

It wouldn’t make any difference, Cy. From what I hear - all major hospitals are the same - show up to work - clock in - collect your paycheck - go home and forget it.

There apparently is a very large percentage of patients that have no health care coverage - no insurance. And they demand everything they can get. Every five minutes. And those of us who pay our own way are ignored.

[ladyjane]

Whenever you go into a hospital you need to have someone right there monitoring your care. Ideally it is a male and a lawyer or a physician. You need to have an advocate there constantly to insure you are getting the right tests, meds and even the right food.

Even with an advocate you’re not always safe. There was a woman who was a writer for the Boston Globe who went into a Boston hospital for chemotherapy. I think she was the health/medical writer and her husband was a lawyer. She and two other women were given the incorrect dose of chemo. She died from the error.

It’s best not to get sick and best to stay out of hospitals if you can.

[ottbmare]

Complaints don’t mean much unless you are willing to post the name of the hospital where you were abused like this.

[linn37]

So you never reported any of your poor treatment? I find that as shocking as the poor care you received.

Two words for your next visit..patient advocate

[yorkie]

Well, darlin’, did I complain? I don’t remember complaining - If I remember correctly - I stated a fact. I stated how I was treated. I do not remember one word of ‘whine’ or ‘complaint’.

I was treated abusively. That is not complaining - it is a fact. I will FM you the name of the hospital - but I do not choose to open myself to a lawsuit or litigation for posting the name of the hospital on a VERY public forum.

I am sure you will understand, Ott. If you don’t, that is not my problem. Have a good night. ;-)

[Grizzled Bear]

But, until then, I have, of course, lost all faith in the hospital business.

If you like it now you'll love "New and Improved" Hillary Care.