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.
Specializes in ER, ICU, Infusion, peds, informatics.
the article said it was a triage nurse. gave the name too. she resigned, the department manager was reassigned.
can you quote it for me?
don't mean to sound so hopeless, but i just reread the article (again) and can't find that reference.
i knew that she had resigned, but i would have, too, even if i didn't feel like i had erred -- there is no way i would have been able to go back there.
the article certainly does make her seem like a horrible person, but we haven't heard her side of the story (and probably never will).
Specializes in UR/PA, Hematology/Oncology, Med Surg, Psych.
My heart goes out to this poor patient and her family. I hope eventually they will find peace of heart, and know that most health care professionals are disgusted by what happened, that we care very much about our patients. But I am also very disappointed with some of the negative sentiments expressed in this thread, by other nurses, concerning ER nurses. Remember, do not judge a whole group of nurses, because of the actions of one. I happen to think ER nurses ROCK and I must say bad apples do exist in all nursing specialities, although I'm happy to say they are in the definite minority. Let's all just take this as reminder to never assume anything regarding our patients and to always take the time to REALLY assess any situation.
I've been thinking for many years that this hospital needs to be run by nuns.
There is too much curruption.
So many fine nurses and others have quit over the years.
Once the premier trauma center the county supervisors ignored it.
The trouble can be traced to the top. I refused to go back as registry because one unit after another became unsafe. Understaffing was just a small part of it.
Specializes in ER, ICU, Infusion, peds, informatics.
can you quote it for me?
it was about halfway down the first page. the nurse is named on the second page.
i'm sorry, that isn't what i wanted you to quote (though rereading my post, it sure does look like that is what i wanted to you quote :) . sorry.....it was late and i was tired).
i saw that part of the article. what i can't find is where it attributes the patient being told that the hospital couldn't help her and to "go home" to the triage nurse.
i've reread both of the articles on the situation, and i can't find that part.
by the way, if you read the article posted in the er nurses forum, it presents the situation very differently. (and it, too, is from the la times) that, everyone, is why i'm a little skeptical. i read the other article first, and according to it, she had just been discharged, and had opted not to leave. that is a pretty significant difference from the situation depicted in the second article. (not that she couldn't still have checked in again and been seen again, but it is a significant varience in the story.) we are getting all this information from newspaper articles, and the two i've read contradict each other in some places. which one is accurate?? which parts of each article are accurate??
Specializes in ER, Occupational Health, Cardiology.
i'm sorry, that isn't what i wanted you to quote (though rereading my post, it sure does look like that is what i wanted to you quote :) . sorry.....it was late and i was tired).
i saw that part of the article. what i can't find is where it attributes the patient being told that the hospital couldn't help her and to "go home" to the triage nurse.
i've reread both of the articles on the situation, and i can't find that part.
by the way, if you read the article posted in the er nurses forum, it presents the situation very differently. (and it, too, is from the la times) that, everyone, is why i'm a little skeptical. i read the other article first, and according to it, she had just been discharged, and had opted not to leave. that is a pretty significant difference from the situation depicted in the second article. (not that she couldn't still have checked in again and been seen again, but it is a significant varience in the story.) we are getting all this information from newspaper articles, and the two i've read contradict each other in some places. which one is accurate?? which parts of each article are accurate??
critterlover, in the first article it said that the pt was outside the hospital, and brought into the er by law enforcement personnel. the triage nurse was quoted as having "thanked" the officers for bringing her back into the facility. i agree teetoally w/tazzi that the reentry constituted a "new" hospital visit, and she should have at least been eyeball triaged and a chart printed. all the nurse would have had to do is call to the back, either to the erp or the charge nurse and let them know that the woman was back, complaining louder than ever of abdominal pain, and what should she do w/her? the monkey then would have been off her back, and onto theirs.:monkeydance:
Okay , I tried to quote it and the site isn't letting me post it for some reason. It's on the first page where the nurse told the pt she had already been seen.
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.
Not to sound harsh here, but the woman *was* seen and d/c'd. I know there was a doc involved in her care. Why is there no mention of the dropping the ball on the *docs* dx? I mean, seeing she was allready there and "treated", I would let her wait too. I think I really would....and it scares me. Why is is always the NURSES!!!!! Obviously she perfed something, a DOCTOR is excused to MISS that, and let her walk out????
chuck1234
629 Posts
So...they knew they did something wrong...
This is the reason why they are "running away."