CW ⚠️ medical homicide

Hospital: Treatment, discharge of woman who died appropriate <— that’s the actual headline, WTF AP

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A woman who died after being discharged from a Tennessee hospital and forced to leave despite her pleas for more help received appropriate medical treatment, the hospital said, but changes were being made to security procedures.

The findings from an internal investigation by Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center in Knoxville over its treatment of 60-year-old Lisa Edwards were released Tuesday, news outlets reported.

Security officers at the hospital called police Feb. 5 saying that Edwards had been evaluated and discharged, but was refusing to leave. Four responding police officers were investigated for repeatedly ignoring her pleas for help as they accused her of faking illness.

The Knox County District Attorney’s office said it would not press criminal charges against the officers after an autopsy determined that Edwards died of a stroke and that “at no time did law enforcement interaction cause or contribute to Ms. Edwards’ death.”

A video released by police showed officers struggle for about 25 minutes to move Edwards into a police van and finally a cruiser. Edwards repeatedly asks for help but is rebuffed by officers and hospital security guards who become frustrated with her inability to step up into the van and tell her she is faking her incapacity.

After she is placed in a police cruiser, video shows Edwards trying to pull herself upright repeatedly, but eventually she slumps over out of sight. Several minutes later, one of the officers performs a traffic stop on another vehicle while Edwards remains in the backseat. When he opens the rear door, Edwards is unresponsive. He calls dispatch for an ambulance, telling them, “I don’t know if she’s faking it or what, but she’s not answering me.”

Edwards was pronounced dead at the Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center the following day.

The hospital said it conducted a thorough internal investigation of Edwards’ care and found that her “medical treatment and hospital discharge were clinically appropriate.”

The hospital also reviewed security procedures and said changes were being made. Several security officers who were working at the facility when Edwards was removed are no longer employed, the hospital said.

“In addition, we are implementing empathy training for security officers serving on behalf of Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center and Covenant Health,” the statement said.

  • flan [they/them]
    ·
    2 years ago

    what's the point of knowing the signs of a stroke if the hospital's just going to send you off to die because they apparently can't recognize the signs of a stroke?

    • buh [she/her]
      ·
      2 years ago

      So you can know if someone you can profit from is having a stroke

  • Dirt_Owl [comrade/them, they/them]
    ·
    edit-2
    2 years ago

    Jesus Christ. This actually made me cry. She was dying and no one would listen. She was all alone and confused. That poor woman. What the fuck.

  • Parzivus [any]
    ·
    2 years ago

    we didn't do anything wrong
    on an unrelated note, we fired several security guards and made the rest take "empathy training"

    I'd say "Amerikkka moment" but that kinda downplays that they just killed someone

  • mkultrawide [any]
    ·
    2 years ago

    They aren't going to admit they did anything wrong because they are going to get sued.

    • sovietknuckles [they/them]
      ·
      edit-2
      2 years ago

      The Knox County District Attorney’s office said it would not press criminal charges against the officers [...] and that “at no time did law enforcement interaction cause or contribute to Ms. Edwards’ death.”

      Oh, okay then

      • mkultrawide [any]
        ·
        edit-2
        2 years ago

        The lady's family is likely going to sue the hospital for malpractice in civil court. The local DA has nothing to do with that.

  • IceWallowCum [he/him]
    ·
    edit-2
    2 years ago

    We conducted a thorough investigation on ourselves and concluded that we did nothing wrong. Case closed.

    • constellation [none/use name]
      ·
      2 years ago

      Untrue! The security officers who were doing the job that management told them to do got fired.

      They find the only working class people involved and put all the blame on them. That way, the people who gave the orders don't get punished. Whew!

  • UmbraVivi [he/him, she/her]
    ·
    2 years ago

    Listen fat, you gotta crack a few eggs to make an omelette, if we let every sick person stay in the hospital forever, how would we ever turn a profit? :biden-troll:

      • CetaceanPosadist
        ·
        2 years ago

        Nashville Hot Tungsten Rod served direct Orbit-to-table