Hospital Deaths in N.Y. and L.A. Shameful

Two Stark Examples of U.S. Health Care in Obvious Trouble

Jul 14, 2009

As the U.S. debates the future of a universal health care program, two deaths in 2008 that engendered shock and disbelief should be remembered for the pain they caused.

Many parents in the U.S. teach their children to always believe in the goodness of America, and to believe that even with all of the inevitable faults that a leading world power will have, that at the end of the day and in the country's heart of hearts, Americans are a good and decent people.

However, that notion was put to the test as recently as December and June of 2008 when two minority women, one an African-American and the other of Hispanic descent, who had reported for health care at emergency rooms in New York City and in Los Angeles went untreated and ended up dying.

Both Hospitals are Located in Majority-Minority Neighborhoods

According to reports from the Associated Press and MSNBC, one woman was a 49 year-old Africa-American woman who went by the name of Esmin Green, died on the floor of Kings County Hospital in New York City after having waited over 24 hours for care. And the other woman of Hispanic origin, Edith Elizabeth Rodriguez, who lay bleeding for hours, died on the floor of Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital in Los Angeles.

Universal heath care coverage is purported to stop situations like this from happening at U.S. hospitals and both Kings County and Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor are public hospitals with egregious records in terms of being investigated by local officials for problems with their patient care.

Many Instances of Mismanagement Found

According to news reports, there are numerous instances of mismanagement, incompetence and substandard conditions going back over several years. In addition, several groups including the New york Civil Liberties Union and a state agency the New York Mental Hygiene Legal service filed suit against Brooklyn's Kings County a year ago, calling the psychiatric center, "a chamber of filth, decay, indifference and danger."

Unfortunately, Martin Luther King Jr. Hospital located just north of Compton and south of Watts, in Los Angeles has fared no better, according to an article written for the Los Angeles Times by Susan Rosenblatt, in March of 2007. Rosenblatt writes, "Since 2004, 260 hospital staffers including 41 doctors, had been fired or had resigned as a result of disciplinary proceedings."

Rosenblatt goes on to write that," [Kings County] "Currently has 1,400 employees in order to help alleviate the impact on the community of the large loss of its capacity, as the facility been forced to pair down operations, going from 233 beds to now just 42. In addition, the Los Angeles County Medical Alert Center (MAC) contracts an ambulance service to take approximately 250 patients per month to other area hospitals." And after its $US200 million in annual funding was revoked, the hospital was forced to close in August 2007.

According to a CBS News report, the family of Ms. Green the New York City patient, was paid a $2 million (US) settlement in her case in May of 2009.

The copyright of the article Hospital Deaths in N.Y. and L.A. Shameful in Race & Politics is owned by Paul Hamilton. Permission to republish Hospital Deaths in N.Y. and L.A. Shameful in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.