Video Catches Hospital 'Dumping' Incident

[jdnation]

For many months, Los Angeles city officials have complained that regional hospitals are dropping off their indigent patients in the city’s tough Skid Row area. On Wednesday, officials at a homeless shelter released a videotape that allegedly catches one hospital in the act. The incident has become part of an ongoing investigation that could result in criminal or civil penalties.

Whole Article:
npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5298034

 

[geezerbob]

If the cops in the surrounding towns are doing it, why not the hospitals?:nope:

 

[Rob_s_Wife]

What criminal or civil law was broken by these hospitals?

First, hospitals are to treat patients with medical problems. They are not boarding houses. Once a patient is treated, the hospital is under no obligation to house them. Also, the video snapshot doesn’t mean much to me. For all we know, this lady left the hospital without telling anyone where she was going or dressing first.

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Second, even if the hospital did send the homeless lady there - it’s a homeless shelter! Sounds like the right call to me? And those clothes may be more, or in better shape, than what she arrived with at the hospital. Many, if not most, homeless shelters keep a bin of clothes because so many homeless are in need of clothes for some reason. Most hospitals however do not.

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I’m guess I just don’t get the issue with the hospital here? If the patient is treated for medical problems and discharged, is the hospital even obligated to ask about their living situation, much less help them with it? I doubt it. Sounds to me like the hospital is doing what little it can for these people given the circumstances.

 

[Fitz]

I think it is poor of the hospital to send her out in hospital clothes. What were they thinking? She was disoriented, and I don’t know how anyone could do that. Now, where should she have gone? I think to a state run mental institution. The elderly often go for rehab after hospital stays. Medicare pays for much of this so I don’t understand why they can dump people. How sick and offensive and sinful.

 

[Guar_Fan]

Rob's Wife:

Second, even if the hospital did send the homeless lady there - it’s a homeless shelter! .

The hospital should have called the shelter first and arranged for intake rather than abandoning a person on the curb.

 

[Dimmers]

Here in Puerto Rico the EMS and Police Departments do that as well. They take the homeless, demented, and heroin addicts and drive them to another town and dump them off. Sad stuff.

 

[Troy7]

1. How can one assume she left the hospital on her own?

In a hospital gown? Where do you think she got the money to pay the cabbie?

1. For a hospital to send a patient out and then to roam around like that is outragious… For the cab driver to DUMP her in front of the place is outragious. He should have his cab drivers medallion REVOKED!

How a cab driver wouldnt get out and escort or contact the cops blows my mind…

Where was the social worker from the hospital that should have rode with that woman? IF none available, why arent special care vans which hospitals DO HAVE, used to take these people to the shelter and WALK THEM IN? Wait I can answer that…see, in this country, if you have insurance, the care van will help ya out…but if you are a poor slob with nothing…its a gown and a cab and see ya later!

If that was a for profit hospital I hope they get sued

If it was non for profit I’d like to see them fined or punished somehow

Robs wife…I dont think you would be so indifferent or supportive of how this happened and continues to happen if that was your mother, father or grandparent.

Regardless of someone being homeless of not, to bad for the hospitals…once that reatment is done, they should be MANDATED to minimumly ensure that a patient is handed off to the next entity in the system…and thats NOT the cabdriver!