Blog 5: Waiting to Death in the ER

The other day I was listening to Good Morning America while getting ready for work and heard of a story that made me cringe. The report involved a woman who actually died on the floor of an emergency room while waiting for care in Los Angeles, CA. Edith Rodriguez, mother of three, arrived at the ER feeling sick and vomiting blood. For over 45 minutes, Rodriguez lay on the ER floor while staff members ignored her. From surveillance videos, one can even see a janitor sweeping the floor around Rodriguez. The woman’s boyfriend called 911 from within the inner-city hospital and was told by the dispatcher that he (and paramedics) could do nothing for him due to the fact that the man’s girlfriend was already in a hospital. A bystander also called 911 for help and was told by another 911 dispatcher that there was nothing he could do for her. In fact, the dispatcher stated “I cannot do anything for you for the quality of the hospital. It is not an emergency. It is not an emergency ma'am” (The Associated Press, 2007). The man actually argued with the caller over whether or not Rodriguez’s situation was an emergency. Toward the end of the conversation, the caller told the dispatcher that God should strike him dead as a result of his actions. The dispatcher replied, “No, negative ma'am, you're the one” (The Associated Press, 2007). Shortly after the call, Edith Rodriguez died on the floor of an ER from a perforated bowel that could have been easily treated. To view this article in more detail, please go to http://abcnews.go.com/US/WireStory?id=3273647&page=1

How could this happen to a patient who sought care from a hospital in her time of need? Clearly, the patient was in severe pain and hospital staff could visibly see her vomiting blood. Who is to blame in this situation? Ironically, the Chief Medical Officer of the hospital has been absent from work since this story was reported to the public. Is the hospital staff to blame for Ms. Rodriguez’s death in that they did nothing to help her and simply ignored her? Perhaps the 911 dispatchers are to blame for not taking the calls seriously and choosing not to send an ambulance for the sick woman so that she could be transported to another facility. In this type of scenario, who would receive the appropriate disciplinary action? How does one go about deciding who is to blame in this case? Does the hospital have an Ethics committee to decide such cases? Will the Chief Medical Officer be held accountable or will it be the staff members on duty that day? What reasons will be provided for not giving Rodriguez the appropriate care? How does the hospital “prioritize” patients when they first enter the ER? Is there a particular system in place for seeing ER patients based on their condition? If so, what are the requirements?

According to the story this is not the first time such an incident has happened at the hospital. Apparently, the hospital has encountered similar problems in the past in regard to not treating patients appropriately. In my opinion, allowing this hospital to continue operating would be unethical, not to mention dangerous for the patients who choose to go there for care. After reading this story, I immediately thought to myself, “should someone in this case be charged for the murder of Edith Rodriguez’s death?” If so, how would this affect the hospital’s staff, the deceased patient’s boyfriend and family, the organization’s stakeholders and the community? If staff members could be charged with murder in this case, would it change how hospitals operated their ERs? Would it change how healthcare workers treated their patients? Would situations like the one above be less likely to occur if such laws and/or actions were put into place for healthcare organizations? Unfortunately, for Edith Rodriguez, such laws and/or disciplinary actions will be of no help. Perhaps some type of compensation will be awarded to her family for the lack of treatment she received. As future healthcare managers, what can we do in order to prevent such tragic occurrences and unethical behavior from happening? What can be done to reduce wait times within our nation's ER department? How can we better train our employees to react appropriately to patients when pressed for time and/or space?

References

The Associated Press (2007, June 13). 911 Dispatchers Denied Dying Woman Help. Retrieved June 13, 2007, from http://abcnews.go.com/US/WireStory?id=3273647&page=1