Thursday, December 22, 2005

More On Hospital Patient Dumping On Skid Row!

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-skidrow22dec22,0,1355553.story?coll=la-home-headlines

And to think all this started with one e-mail from Captain Andrew Smith...

L.A. Targets Patient Dumping

The city alerts hospitals of possible legal action if they leave people on skid row against their will.

Cara Mia DiMassa and Richard Winton Times Staff Writers December 22, 2005

The Los Angeles city attorney's office is warning hospitals across Los Angeles today they are potential targets of an investigation into alleged dumping of patients on skid row.

City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo said Wednesday that the probe could result in criminal charges or lawsuits if hospitals dumped patients against their will. Police and community activists have charged for years that hospitals and law enforcement agencies were dumping homeless people in the downtown area.

But Delgadillo's investigation marks the first time officials have attempted to crack down on the practice.

But it also took Cara Mia Dimasa of the Times along with many other LAT reporters, including Richard Winton who worked on many of them, to bring this to the attention of the public and to keep the attention focused there.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is a practice throughout California, not just LA. My wife was sent down to San Francisco for an implant because of an earlier aneurysm surgery. The wrong type of material was used and she was "dumped" into a rehab facility (Kentfield Rehab)while they monitored the implant to see if her body would reject it. That facility wanted to "dump"her into a marin county Skilled nursing facility. I told them we were not from this area and needed to return to Oregon. They told me to find a facility there. I did and then they told me to find my own way to the airport here and from the airport up there to the facility. I have told them repeatedly that her blood pressure is not in her normal range (it is 140's/80'-90's and her normal is 100/60)The facility has not fulfilled its obligations on 2 seperate doctors orders she arrived with, but she is being "dumped" anyway.
Because of our five year journey through the medical field, we have nothing and with $20 in my pocket, I will be leaving 8/21 for Oregon on a commercial flight. My wife is contracted on her left side and sitting for the 2 hour flight would have been impossible if the facility would not have ordered enough valium to knock her out for the trip. She will suffer tremendously when she wakes up, but that will be in Oregon. This state amazes me and I am glad I only have to suffer through 3 more days here.

Anonymous said...

This happened to our family to at Kentfield I wish I could talk to you