Hospitals dumping patients on Skid Row

[Guest guest]

Has anything like this been going on outside of LA?

Has anyone else been following this? (follow link for

a nice pic of EMS crew dumping patient)

http://www.saukvalley.com/articles/2007/02/16/news/national/290371479859725.prt

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Even on Skid Row, it was shocking:

a paraplegic man in a soiled gown sliding along the

sidewalk with his hands, clutching a plastic bag with

his belongings between his teeth.

Police said the man, who was dragging a broken

colostomy bag behind him, was dumped on the sidewalk

Thursday in one of the worst parts of the city by the

driver of a hospital van. The area is the same

location where city officials say hospitals have

dumped the homeless before.

Witnesses, all homeless people, began shouting, " Where

is his wheelchair? Where is his walker? " Detective

Russ Long said Friday. They told officers the driver

responded that the man defecated in the van and had to

be removed.

" If there is an explanation it just eludes me at this

point, " Long said.

" He was sliding along on his bottom using his hands.

He had a hospital property bag in his mouth, in his

teeth, and he was trailing a colostomy bag, which was

malfunctioning. "

Witnesses told police a van from Hollywood

Presbyterian Medical Center pulled up to a tiny park

in the grimy area near downtown at 10:45 a.m.

Thursday, a side door opened and a man, dressed in a

green hospital gown and pants, began struggling to get

out. The driver looked on.

" His pants fell around his ankles. He fell onto the

curb with his legs dangling onto the street, " Long

said. " He reached down and grabbed his pants, pulled

his legs onto the sidewalk. Witnesses said the van

would have run over his legs if he hadn't have done

that. "

Homeless people in the area helped the disoriented man

into the park. A police bicycle patrol arrived by

chance within a minute and called an ambulance.

The 41-year-old man's name was not released, but he

was wearing a bracelet from the hospital, Long said.

Dan Springer, a spokesman for the medical center, did

not confirm or deny that the van carrying the man came

from Hollywood Presbyterian. He said an internal

investigation was under way and pledged cooperation

with any outside investigation.

" These are very serious allegations. Our goal is to

get to the bottom of exactly what happened. If we

determine a mistake of this magnitude was made, we

will respond swiftly and appropriately, " Springer

said.

The man was taken to another hospital. Police did not

disclose his condition.

The case comes three months after the city attorney's

office filed its first indictment alleging homeless

dumping, against Kaiser Permanente Hospital. In that

case, a 63-year-old patient from the hospital's

Bellflower medical center was videotaped wandering the

streets of Skid Row in a hospital gown and socks.

Kaiser has said it has taken steps to see that no more

of its patients are left on Skid Row.

City officials have accused more than a dozen

hospitals of dumping patients and criminals on Skid

Row. Hospital officials have denied the allegations,

but some said they had taken homeless patients to Skid

Row service providers.

In 2005, Hollywood Presbyterian was accused of

homeless dumping. At the time, a top executive denied

the charge, but said Skid Row service providers

offered treatment and care for some patients who had

nowhere else to go.

A recent crackdown on crime around Skid Row has

resulted in a migration of homeless people out of

downtown, significantly reducing the area's transient

population but also putting a strain on homeless

service providers elsewhere.

Last month, 875 people were living on the streets

surrounding Skid Row, according to a Police Department

count. That compares to 1,345 people at about the same

time last year.

© Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights

reserved. This material may not be published,

broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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