Lawyer: Baltimore hospital turned back on woman suffering ‘psychotic episode’
BALTIMORE — The attorney for a woman left outside a Baltimore hospital wearing only a patient gown and socks on a cold night last week said the medical institution turned its back on her when she was having a psychotic episode.
J. Wyndal Gordon, who said Wednesday that he was hired to represent the patient on behalf of the family, said the woman named Rebecca was now at an undisclosed inpatient facility undergoing mental health treatment.
He called the actions of the employees at the University of Maryland Medical Center Midtown “cruel and inhumane” in a phone interview Wednesday.
“It was a completely unacceptable response from someone who you give great trust to handle your medical affairs and people need to be held accountable,” Gordon said.
Hospital officials said that they could not discuss specifics of the case and that they are still investigating why the woman was escorted out of the hospital by uniformed security personnel and left at a city bus stop after being discharged from the emergency room. They said in a statement that they already have started to implement changes to discharge procedures as a result of the widely publicized incident.
“We are nearing the conclusion of the investigation and are implementing appropriate personnel actions,” the statement said. “We have added additional layers of consultation and accountability around the post-discharge process in certain situations, as well as enhanced coordination of the range of services to meet the social needs of patients.” The state’s Office of Health Care Quality and the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services also are examining what happened.
The state agency is a branch of the Maryland Health Department that licenses and certifies health facilities and programs throughout Maryland. The Medicare and Medicaid office enforces a federal law that forbids emergency rooms from denying hospital services if patients can’t pay. Under the law, hospitals must “stabilize” patients before releasing them or transfer those they can’t to other facilities that can help them.
Still, precise discharge policies can differ by hospital.
“The investigation is ongoing, and the report will be released once it has been finalized,” said Brittany Fowler, a spokeswoman with the Maryland Health Department, in an email. “I do not have an exact timeline at this point of when that will occur.”
The incident, which occurred in the late evening of Jan. 9, was caught on video by local psychotherapist Imamu Baraka, who saw hospital security personnel leave her on the street. The woman in the video appears disoriented and unsteady, and she stumbles a few times. What appear to be four security guards are shown walking back into the hospital. One of them pushes an empty wheelchair. The woman seems to have trouble speaking or responding when Baraka asks if she needs help.
Baraka, who narrated what was happening in the video, called 911 for help and the woman was transported back to UMMC Midtown’s emergency room. The hospital later sent her to a homeless shelter by taxi.