After Too-long Er Wait, Woman With Chest Pains Leaves...dies Later
- Thread starter Laela
- Start date
HappilyLiberal
Well-Known Member
It's not most hospitals. When you are admitted, most hospitals do a pretty good job. The emergency rooms are trash at triage.
michelle81
Well-Known Member
I only skimmed most posts, but a huge issue here IMO is her age and race. Plenty of studies show blacks absolutely do not get the same care as whites and some other minorities.
I agree with @Miss_Luna and wondering who read the EKG to say it was normal? EKG's give an electronic "readout or interpretation", but IMO the interpretation needs to be disregarded and actually read by someone who knows what they are looking at. A physician, NP or PA with plenty of experience reading EKG's can interpret it in less than 2 minutes. I'm positive that hospital is now going back over that EKG to see if some small discrepancy was missed that should not have been.
Another thought I had. The OP says the cause of death has not been determined yet. It very well could have been CHF, a pulmonary embolism, pulmonary edema, etc. - which more than likely would not show up early on an EKG. I would also question whether cardiac enzymes were done and if she was examined by a provider before being sent to the lobby.
Plenty here for a malpractice lawyer to have a field day with - this one will definitely settle out of court. Hopefully this ER and others will make changes if they are deemed liable.
Can't say I really blame the patient for leaving. She was obviously in some kind of real distress and knew it and obviously was not being cared for appropriately.
I agree with @Miss_Luna and wondering who read the EKG to say it was normal? EKG's give an electronic "readout or interpretation", but IMO the interpretation needs to be disregarded and actually read by someone who knows what they are looking at. A physician, NP or PA with plenty of experience reading EKG's can interpret it in less than 2 minutes. I'm positive that hospital is now going back over that EKG to see if some small discrepancy was missed that should not have been.
Another thought I had. The OP says the cause of death has not been determined yet. It very well could have been CHF, a pulmonary embolism, pulmonary edema, etc. - which more than likely would not show up early on an EKG. I would also question whether cardiac enzymes were done and if she was examined by a provider before being sent to the lobby.
Plenty here for a malpractice lawyer to have a field day with - this one will definitely settle out of court. Hopefully this ER and others will make changes if they are deemed liable.
Can't say I really blame the patient for leaving. She was obviously in some kind of real distress and knew it and obviously was not being cared for appropriately.
michelle81
Well-Known Member
To the highlighted, I'm really not sure. From what I've seen that doesn't work and I think it's a myth. It gets you maybe triaged quicker, but so many people use an ambulance as a cab that the ER folks a lot of times view it as just that.
I've seen more than I can count people coming in by ambulance, triaged and then told to have a seat in the lobby (which is honestly how it should be). ER staff know that not all who come in via ambulance are there for a true emergency. Tashonna was obviously an emergency, but I'm not sure if an ambulance ride would have helped her or not.
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chocolat79
Well-Known Member
Yep! That's how it is at the hospital where I work. They'll take you right off the stretcher and put you in a wheelchair and place you right in the lobby if they don't deem it a true emergency. Happens all the time.
Ironically, she probably could've lived if she had stayed, despite the wait. If she'd fallen out in the ER lobby, they may have been able to save her. NOT blaming this young lady , but I wish she had stayed, she may have still been alive.
ETA: The hospital called her an hour later, which indicates she probably had abnormal lab work and when she didn't answer when they called out to the lobby, they tried her cellphone. One more hour wait would've probably saved her life.
People don't think about it, but if you elope from the hospital and go somewhere else, you have to start over and wait there too and especially in the evenings, which are generally the busiest times.
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michelle81
Well-Known Member
I agree with the odds are she would have had a much better chance of survival if she had gone down while in the lobby and that's very unfortunate that at that point she would have been taken seriously.
michelle81
Well-Known Member
I have very strong feelings about things like this because of my job and even more so for extremely personal reasons.
I've had someone (my daughter) be a victim being young, black, and female in the ER and not taken seriously along with treated horribly as well as having a detrimental outcome. All the advocating in triage and in the exam room, persistence with the doctor and nurses, telling that doctor what I knew was wrong, patiently and calmly telling him at first and then arguing with him at the end as well as flat out asking "Are you telling me that you are doing the exact same thing for my daughter that you would do for your child or one of your colleague's children?"; did not change his opinion of us, take her seriously, treat us like anything other than an annoyance, etc.
There's a lot of good providers out there, but ER staff can become really complacent and jaded, that's until huge lawsuits and bad publicity come their way.
Anyway, rant over and that's a subject I could go on about for weeks and weeks.
I've had someone (my daughter) be a victim being young, black, and female in the ER and not taken seriously along with treated horribly as well as having a detrimental outcome. All the advocating in triage and in the exam room, persistence with the doctor and nurses, telling that doctor what I knew was wrong, patiently and calmly telling him at first and then arguing with him at the end as well as flat out asking "Are you telling me that you are doing the exact same thing for my daughter that you would do for your child or one of your colleague's children?"; did not change his opinion of us, take her seriously, treat us like anything other than an annoyance, etc.
There's a lot of good providers out there, but ER staff can become really complacent and jaded, that's until huge lawsuits and bad publicity come their way.
Anyway, rant over and that's a subject I could go on about for weeks and weeks.
Reinventing21
Spreading my wings
Wait. Who are you referring to? I mean who is the white woman and her story? Was it the same scenario?
Laela
Sidestepping the "lynch mob"
Story A >> After Too-long Er Wait, Woman With Chest Pains Leaves...dies Later
GoFundMe
Story B >>>Woman Who Was Acting As A Surrogate For A Family Died While Giving Birth
GoFundMe
It's a mere observation, for those who care
GoFundMe
Story B >>>Woman Who Was Acting As A Surrogate For A Family Died While Giving Birth
GoFundMe
It's a mere observation, for those who care
SpiritJunkie
Well-Known Member
wow! well this is how our society thinks of us.....further confirmation we're at the bottom of the totem pole unfortunately..Story A >> After Too-long Er Wait, Woman With Chest Pains Leaves...dies Later
GoFundMe
Story B >>>Woman Who Was Acting As A Surrogate For A Family Died While Giving Birth
GoFundMe
It's a mere observation, for those who care
msbettyboop
Well-Known Member
My God, this is terrible. The two times I went to complain about chest pain in a hospital, they like pounced on me and wouldn't let me go until they'd run every available test on me to make sure everything was fine. I almost called a friend to come rescue me because they wouldn't let me leave.
In one of those cases, they kept me in the hospital all day and ran an EKG or something every hour or so.
I found out later on they were so crazy because anything to do with the chest/heart is given high priority.
In one of those cases, they kept me in the hospital all day and ran an EKG or something every hour or so.
I found out later on they were so crazy because anything to do with the chest/heart is given high priority.
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