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LOS ANGELES VA UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR PATIENT
DUMPING -- A man, barefoot, face bandaged, who
had just
been dropped off by a taxicab, told the guards
that he was
in severe pain and could barely walk, and had
come from
the VA hospital. He said he didn't want to be
on Skid Row.
For more about homeless veterans, use the VA
Watchdog search engine...click here...
http://www.yourvabenefits.org/ses
search.php?q=homeless&op=and
Story here...
http://abclocal.go.com/
kabc/story?section=local&id=5588413
Story below:
-------------------------
Hospitals Accused of Dumping Patients on Skid
Row
LAPD Investigating Two Cases
KABC By Miriam Hernandez
LOS ANGELES, - The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating
two more alleged cases of hospital patients being dumped on L.A.'s Skid
Row. In one incident, police are checking surveillance video. That
investigation is centered at LAPD's Central Division Headquarters.
The investigation has just begun. LAPD is in the preliminary stages of
gather information. In fact, even the hospitals allegedly involved have
not been officially notified of the complaints.
In the last several days two patients came to Skid Row, one in serious
need of medical care, and the other in serious need of psychiatric care.
Security guards at the Union Rescue Mission saw video just after
midnight on Sunday: A man, barefoot, face bandaged, who had just been
dropped off -- not by an ambulance or a health care provider, but by a
United Independent taxicab. He told the guards that he was in severe
pain and could barely walk, and had come from the Veterans
Administration Hospital. According to the Union Rescue Mission, it
appears to be a violation of L.A.'s anti-dumping law.
The shelter says there was no notification from any hospital that a
patient was coming.
"The man said he never wanted to come to Skid Row. He never asked to
come to Union Rescue Mission, and as soon as he got a chance, he went
back to the hospital," said Andy Bales of the Union Rescue Mission.
Two days earlier, a similar incident. A man named Brian, who carried
discharge papers from Western Medical Center in Anaheim, more than 24
miles from Skid Row. A staff member notes that "Patient has no realistic
plans for self-care. Patient is agitated, delusional, and threatened
staff with physical harm."
LAPD is investigating both cases. "We have to determine if there was
prior notification to the Mission, the shelters, on whether there's
availability for beds," said LAPD Captain Jodi Wakefield.
The Los Angeles City Attorney's Office has been cracking down on
hospitals that have dumped indigent patients.
In one case, a paraplegic man was left without a wheelchair or a walker.
In the latest incidents there's concern that bringing patients to Skid
Row could cause further injury.
The Union Rescue Mission has this message: "Find appropriate follow-up
services nearby for your homeless patients. Don't send them to the mean
streets of Skid Row," said Andy Bales.
"They [the hospitals] need to know that they're responsible for these
patients and there's a protocol that they have to follow, and they're
going to be held accountable for it," said Capt. Wakefield.
An update on the two patients: The one from the VA Hospital was returned
to that hospital, but in the care of paramedics. The second man was
cared for at the Union Rescue Mission for two days, then he walked off.
He had no medication.
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Larry Scott --
