the first few paragraphs, click link for rest of story (too long to cut/paste)
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.
interesting. says she was in for abd pain 3x in 3 days,but never what they did for her test wise, or what they suspected her diagnosis was, etc.
wait i have a feeling im going to get flamed so i guess ill go down in flames! I want you all to realize I am in no way condoning what happened to that poor pt. Its horrible, pathetic, and just plain sad. However I don't think we know the real story. Lets face it can anyone know what really happened unless they were really there? The media always(and yes i am generalizing) blows things way out of proportion. So what do we know? What really did happen that horrid night? There are always 2 sides to every story and unfortunately we will never hear the patients side. I think her death speaks louder than words. All im asking is for the pointing fingers to stop. All of you who can't stand us sorry ED nurses may some day find yourself looking up into our eyes. I pray to God it is a good experience for you. I would be proud to help you.
Bopps, I agree with you that the finger-pointing toward ER nurses in general needs to stop, however, King Drew has a bad rep for mistreating/misdiagnosing pts. It would not surprised me in the least to find out that what was reported is exactly---or close to---what happened.
Janitor may not be trained to do that, but every housekeeper in every other place I've worked at will stop and ask a pt on the floor if he/she needs help.
wait i have a feeling im going to get flamed so i guess ill go down in flames! I want you all to realize I am in no way condoning what happened to that poor pt. Its horrible, pathetic, and just plain sad. However I don't think we know the real story. Lets face it can anyone know what really happened unless they were really there? The media always(and yes i am generalizing) blows things way out of proportion. So what do we know? What really did happen that horrid night? There are always 2 sides to every story and unfortunately we will never hear the patients side. I think her death speaks louder than words. All im asking is for the pointing fingers to stop. All of you who can't stand us sorry ED nurses may some day find yourself looking up into our eyes. I pray to God it is a good experience for you. I would be proud to help you.
It is the incompetency and the indifference that are horrified us here.
It is true there are 2 sides of a story; however, Ms. Rodriquez was died unnecessarily.
Specializes in Diabetes ED, (CDE), CCU, Pulmonary/HIV.
BOPPS:
As I said: Of course you don't do this. But just because you don't do it, it doesn't mean that no one else does it either. That, too, would be a generalization. It seems to be what happened in the case of Mrs Rodriguez. She apparently thought she had gallstones....
Three words to assess ability to spell (at least on Allnurses.com)
Bopps, I hope you're right. Maybe they'll come up with a list of all they (the hospital) have done for her. But she shouldn't have been laying on the floor...or maybe somebody just made that up.
Just go to the ER thread and read it. I can't believe you haven't seen some of this yourselves. Just because someone is a nurse, they are not automatically nominated for sainthood. There is no excuse for this kind of treatment. It's illegal. I don't care if the patient was stinking drunk (there was no indication that she was--just an example), she deserved to be triaged.
There are NO extenuating circumstances that can excuse how this woman was treated. Judgmental--Me? You bet, if it means holding hospital employees accountable.
I do not believe it had anything to do with being hispanic because the same thing happened to my cousin and she was white.
Morbidly obese, went to the ER several times over two weeks with abdominal pain and was shown to be getting weaker and weaker with each visit, but other than prescribing and antibiotic and sending her on her way they did nothing. She went to the ER one night, got sent home, my aunt found her dead when she went in to check on her at 3AM.
I do fully believe, however, the way she was treated had to do with being indigent.
I have been sent away from a hospital as soon as they found out I had no insurance, the doctor wouldn't even come in to look at me and told the nurse over the hospital phone it didn't sound like an emergency and to send me home. I mean, he didn't even try to be subtle about it, but I was 22 at the time, didn't realize I could have caused a rukus.
It's not fair, but then, that hasn't stopped the system from business as usual. There's nothing new under the sun.
I do not believe it had anything to do with being hispanic because the same thing happened to my cousin and she was white.
Morbidly obese, went to the ER several times over two weeks with abdominal pain and was shown to be getting weaker and weaker with each visit, but other than prescribing and antibiotic and sending her on her way they did nothing. She went to the ER one night, got sent home, my aunt found her dead when she went in to check on her at 3AM.
Autopsy showed perforated bowel. She was only 34 y/o.
I do fully believe, however, the way she was treated had to do with being indigent.
I have been sent away from a hospital as soon as they found out I had no insurance, the doctor wouldn't even come in to look at me and told the nurse over the hospital phone it didn't sound like an emergency and to send me home. I mean, he didn't even try to be subtle about it, but I was 22 at the time, didn't realize I could have caused a rukus.
It's not fair, but then, that hasn't stopped the system from business as usual. There's nothing new under the sun.
I also just wanted to say, I accompanied a patient to the ER a couple of months ago (this was the second ER, the first one gave her a rocephin injection and sent her home even though she was delirius and could not stand) and I really liked the ER nurses at the second hospital (even though they dumped duties like catheterizing the patient on me I didn't get upset, it was a couple of male nurses...well, anyway, they at least acted concerned and the doctor was considerate enough to find a hospital where they would be able to take her as a patient. Anyway, I don't blame the staff, I blame the system.
Specializes in ER, Occupational Health, Cardiology.
Maybe I missed something-was it determined that this lady did have a bowel perf? Beyond that, I was thinking of a AAA. About 15 yrs ago when I was in ER (a CEN), we had a man come in 3 times in one weekend c/o abdominal pain. He was a BIG man, tall and wide. They did a uro workup the first time, and a GI workup the second time with an abdominal series, and was d/c'd home. The third time, he came in with a ruptured AAA. He was saved, surgically, but was permanently blind from anoxia. I took care of him several months later in ICU at a neighboring hospital where his very large abdominal incision was having to heal by secondary intention. This man was white, well-educated, and wealthy. It matters very little the socioeconomic status of a person when we ass-u-me. That was one of the first things I was taught in nursing school back in the early 80's.
BTW-as a former CEN who loved Triage, for those folks who love to generalize and throw stones, all I can say is, you have GOT to be there to believe it! Occasionally we would have nurses float down from other floors when their unit was slow, and they could not wait to get back to the peace and sanity of their own floor! I am not excusing inhumanity, but please, refrain from blowing one of the most important links in the medical care chain totally out of the water-as a whole-! Some of the best MDs and Nurses I ever worked with were in ER, and I learned more there than anywhere.
I didn't get upset, it was a couple of male nurses...well, anyway, they at least acted concerned and the doctor was considerate enough to find a hospital where they would be able to take her as a patient. Anyway, I don't blame the staff, I blame the system.
GLORIAmunchkin72
650 Posts
"While Ms. Rodriquez was dying like a "dog," none of the nurses in that ER came out and spoke for her. What a shame!!!!"
What about the janitor who mopped around her? It looks like the indifference was catching.