I currently work as an “International Patient Advocate" for person afflicted with "Adhesion Related Disorder (ARD)" and though this disorder has not been confirmed as a condition that Edith Isabel Rodriguez had, in my opinion it very well could be. It is my intentions to secure Mrs. Rodriguez's autopsy report which will offer to me a more comprehensive look into her prior medical/surgical history, which, if there is anything of a surgical nature existing in that history, will give credence to the probability that "post surgical peritoneal adhesions" were in fact a cause of her pain and multiple ER visits for pain. I can say with certainty that being on analgesics it is no wonder Edith had a bowel obstruction from constipation, which is a side affect of such a medication, and for a person who has a bowel compromised from adhesions, obstruction is a medical emergency which can trigger the results typical of what Edith Isabel Rodriguez experienced -death surrounded by ignorance and hostility within the medical arena. Tammy Wynette died under similar circumstances, and her death was directly related to ARD. Others have as well, unfortunately. I invite, and encourage you to please visit this web site: http://www.adhesionrelateddisorder.com/ for more information on ARD. I am hoping that anyone reading my post will take this unfortunate situation and loss of a young mother a step further by acclimating yourselves to a most hideous medical condition that rivals appendectomies, heart bypass surgery and hip replacements in our country, and throughout the world.
A search of the medical blogsphere shows so little compassion for this woman's death.
They use the phrase "frequent flyer" to their ER's . This phrase has been heard by so many desperately ill people afflicted by adhesions.
Their arguments are beyond callous and often turn to discussions of the evils of socialized medicine and...gasp...how much these docs get paid! Their dependency on CT scans ( if it ain't there it don't exist!)
Read the responses to our message on medblogs!
Start with KevinMD.
http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2007/06/mlk-jr-harbor-hospital-preview-of.html#comments
If indeed Adhesions are the culprit in Edith's death, and we intend to find out, perhaps Edith's family can find some bit of peace knowing what happened to their loved one and how often ARD patients are treated in such manners.
Her tragic death will not be in vain.
Edith Isabel Rodriguez
Woman at King-Harbor died of perforated bowel
By Charles Ornstein, Times Staff WriterJune 2, 2007
A 43-year-old woman who writhed in pain for 45 minutes on the emergency room lobby floor of Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital died of a perforated bowel, the Los Angeles County coroner's office said late Friday. Neither hospital staff nor other patients attempted to assist her as she lay dying.The coroner's office labeled the death of Edith Isabel Rodriguez on May 9 as an accident and said it had turned over its findings to the district attorney, the Sheriff's Department and the county Department of Health Services, which are investigating the death. Other factors contributing to Rodriguez's death were a bowel obstruction and the effects of prescription drugs and methamphetamine use.Her bowel broke open less than 24 hours before her death, and experts have said she could have been treated if it had been caught early enough.The coroner's office said its complete autopsy report would not be released until Monday. A news release announcing the findings was distributed after 6 p.m. Friday. Rodriguez's death, which has prompted federal and state probes, triggered immediate outrage after it was reported in The Times last month. A videotape of the events shows the indifference of other patients and hospital staff, according to several people who saw it. At one point, a janitor cleaned around Rodriguez as she lay on the floor. King-Harbor, formerly King/Drew, has been trying to rebound from a string of egregious incidents that have contributed to patient deaths beginning more than 3 1/2 years ago. The county has slashed services, spent millions of dollars on consultants and disciplined hundreds of staffers. Even so, the hospital's future is not assured. King-Harbor is preparing for a crucial inspection next month that will determine whether it receives federal funding. If it fails, the hospital could close.Dr. Bruce Chernof, director of the county Department of Health Services, said in a written statement that Rodriguez was not provided with compassionate service and that her death was "inexcusable.""It is important to understand that this was fundamentally a failure of caring," he said.A triage nurse in the emergency room, who turned away pleas from county police and Rodriguez's boyfriend to help her, has resigned. The emergency room supervisor was reassigned and other unspecified personnel actions have been taken, Chernof said.--
charles.ornstein@latimes.com
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-kingdeath2jun02,1,2460605.story?coll=la-headlines-california&ctrack=1&cset=true
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
http://aids-write.org/?p=562
Tale of last 90 minutes of woman’s lifeCounty officials express dismay at the events surrounding the recent controversial death at King-Harbor hospital. One nurse has resigned.By Charles OrnsteinTimes Staff WriterMay 20, 2007
In the emergency room at Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital, Edith Isabel Rodriguez was seen as a complainer.
“Thanks a lot, officers,” an emergency room nurse told Los Angeles County police who brought in Rodriguez early May 9 after finding her in front of the Willowbrook hospital yelling for help. “This is her third time here.”
The 43-year-old mother of three had been released from the emergency room hours earlier, her third visit in three days for abdominal pain. She’d been given prescription medication and a doctor’s appointment.
Turning to Rodriguez, the nurse said, “You have already been seen, and there is nothing we can do,” according to a report by the county office of public safety, which provides security at the hospital.
Parked in the emergency room lobby in a wheelchair after police left, she fell to the floor. She lay on the linoleum, writhing in pain, for 45 minutes, as staffers worked at their desks and numerous patients looked on.
Aside from one patient who briefly checked on her condition, no one helped her. A janitor cleaned the floor around her as if she were a piece of furniture. A closed-circuit camera captured everyone’s apparent indifference. . . .
David Janssen, the county’s chief administrative officer, said the incident is being taken very seriously. In a rare move, his office took over control of the inquiry from the county health department and the office of public safety.
“There’s no excuse — and I don’t think anybody believes that there is,” Janssen said.
Over the last 3 1/2 years, King-Harbor has reeled from crisis to crisis.
Based on serious patient-care lapses, it has lost its national accreditation and federal funding. Hundreds of staff members have been disciplined and services cut.
Janssen said he was concerned that the incident would divert attention from preparing the hospital for a crucial review in six weeks that is to determine whether it can regain federal funding.
If the hospital fails, it could be forced to close.
“It certainly isn’t going to help,” Janssen said.[that’s not at the top of my list of things that don’t help — rk]
charles.ornstein@latimes.com
Times staff writers Stuart Pfeifer and Susannah Rosenblatt contributed to this report.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tapes show operators ignored pleas to send ambulance to L.A. hospital
Updated: 10:43 a.m. ET June 13, 2007
LOS ANGELES - A woman who lay bleeding on the emergency room floor of a troubled inner-city hospital died after 911 dispatchers refused to contact paramedics or an ambulance to take her to another facility, newly released tapes of the emergency calls reveal.
Edith Isabel Rodriguez, 43, died of a perforated bowel on May 9 at Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital. Her death was ruled accidental by the Los Angeles County coroner’s office.
Relatives said Rodriguez was bleeding from the mouth and writhing in pain for 45 minutes while she was at a hospital waiting area. Experts have said she could have survived had she been treated early enough.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Woman’s Death increases Pressure on LA Hospital to close down
A Los Angeles county hospital is under immense pressure trying to survive amid reports of negligence in patient care. The plea for help from a woman dying in the emergency room of the Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital seemed to have been ignored by the in house staff. Like wise two emergency calls to the 911 too was rejected by the dispatchers, ultimately leading to the death of the woman. Newly released tapes of 911 calls reveal that a woman who lay bleeding on the floor of the emergency room died last month after dispatchers refused to contact paramedics or an ambulance to take her to another facility.Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital, once a symbol of hope in the inner city, struggled Wednesday to survive amid new reports of breakdowns in patient care, the replacement of its chief medical officer and an ultimatum to correct long-running problems or close. Edith Isabel Rodriguez, 43, had been taken to Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital for treatment of what the county coroner later determined was a perforated bowel on May 9th. She waited 45 minutes, without treatment, before she died. The County coroner believes that she would have survived if had received timely help.The whole incident was caught on camera, the video from an ER camera showed staff members and patients standing by as a janitor cleaned the floor around Rodriguez, who was buried Tuesday in Tehachapi, Calif.
The woman's treatment was 'callous, it was a horrible thing,' Los Angeles County Supervisor Yvonne Burke said Wednesday .
Earlier this week, the county Board of Supervisors grilled health officials about conditions at the public hospital and ordered them to return in two weeks with a plan to deal with a hospital shutdown if it is unable to correct deficiencies laid out in a federal inspection that concluded emergency room patients were in 'immediate jeopardy.' After the inspection last week, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services gave the hospital 23 days to correct problems or face a loss of federal funding that provides much of its budget. That could force it to close. It was the fourth time in less than four years that the hospital had received the warning.The federal review was based, in part, on a report that a man with a brain tumor waited four days in the emergency room when he needed to be transferred to another facility for lifesaving brain surgery.Dr. Roger Peeks, the hospital's chief medical officer, was placed on 'ordered absence' Monday and replaced on an interim basis by Dr. Robert Splawn, senior medical officer for the county health department. Department spokesman Michael Wilson confirmed the change but declined to elaborate Wednesday, saying it was a personnel matter.L.A. County supervisor Zev Yarovslosky called the hospital's actions a moral and human breakdown.Burke said the county-run hospital, which handles 49,000 emergency patients a year, is a crucial facility and efforts should be made to keep it open because nearby hospitals could not handle the load. Health officials are 'doing everything in our power to help MLK-Harbor meet national standards,' Dr. Bruce Chernof, director and chief medical officer of health department, said in a statement.Sheriff's department spokesman Steve Whitmore said the department was reviewing the handling of the 911 calls by two of its dispatchers.Source-Medindia
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Why did you choose to work in the ED?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mourners including family and friends of Edith Rodriguez pay their respects at the Tehachapi Public Cemetery. Rodriguez died at King-Harbor May 9 after writhing on the floor for 45 minutes.
(Mark Boster / LAT)
A search of the medical blogsphere shows so little compassion for this woman's death.
They use the phrase "frequent flyer" to their ER's . This phrase has been heard by so many desperately ill people afflicted by adhesions.
Their arguments are beyond callous and often turn to discussions of the evils of socialized medicine and...gasp...how much these docs get paid! Their dependency on CT scans ( if it ain't there it don't exist!)
Read the responses to our message on medblogs!
Start with KevinMD.
http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2007/06/mlk-jr-harbor-hospital-preview-of.html#comments
If indeed Adhesions are the culprit in Edith's death, and we intend to find out, perhaps Edith's family can find some bit of peace knowing what happened to their loved one and how often ARD patients are treated in such manners.
Her tragic death will not be in vain.
Edith Isabel RodriguezWoman at King-Harbor died of perforated bowel
By Charles Ornstein, Times Staff WriterJune 2, 2007
A 43-year-old woman who writhed in pain for 45 minutes on the emergency room lobby floor of Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital died of a perforated bowel, the Los Angeles County coroner's office said late Friday. Neither hospital staff nor other patients attempted to assist her as she lay dying.The coroner's office labeled the death of Edith Isabel Rodriguez on May 9 as an accident and said it had turned over its findings to the district attorney, the Sheriff's Department and the county Department of Health Services, which are investigating the death. Other factors contributing to Rodriguez's death were a bowel obstruction and the effects of prescription drugs and methamphetamine use.Her bowel broke open less than 24 hours before her death, and experts have said she could have been treated if it had been caught early enough.The coroner's office said its complete autopsy report would not be released until Monday. A news release announcing the findings was distributed after 6 p.m. Friday. Rodriguez's death, which has prompted federal and state probes, triggered immediate outrage after it was reported in The Times last month. A videotape of the events shows the indifference of other patients and hospital staff, according to several people who saw it. At one point, a janitor cleaned around Rodriguez as she lay on the floor. King-Harbor, formerly King/Drew, has been trying to rebound from a string of egregious incidents that have contributed to patient deaths beginning more than 3 1/2 years ago. The county has slashed services, spent millions of dollars on consultants and disciplined hundreds of staffers. Even so, the hospital's future is not assured. King-Harbor is preparing for a crucial inspection next month that will determine whether it receives federal funding. If it fails, the hospital could close.Dr. Bruce Chernof, director of the county Department of Health Services, said in a written statement that Rodriguez was not provided with compassionate service and that her death was "inexcusable.""It is important to understand that this was fundamentally a failure of caring," he said.A triage nurse in the emergency room, who turned away pleas from county police and Rodriguez's boyfriend to help her, has resigned. The emergency room supervisor was reassigned and other unspecified personnel actions have been taken, Chernof said.--
charles.ornstein@latimes.com
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-kingdeath2jun02,1,2460605.story?coll=la-headlines-california&ctrack=1&cset=true
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
http://aids-write.org/?p=562
Tale of last 90 minutes of woman’s lifeCounty officials express dismay at the events surrounding the recent controversial death at King-Harbor hospital. One nurse has resigned.By Charles OrnsteinTimes Staff WriterMay 20, 2007
In the emergency room at Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital, Edith Isabel Rodriguez was seen as a complainer.
“Thanks a lot, officers,” an emergency room nurse told Los Angeles County police who brought in Rodriguez early May 9 after finding her in front of the Willowbrook hospital yelling for help. “This is her third time here.”
The 43-year-old mother of three had been released from the emergency room hours earlier, her third visit in three days for abdominal pain. She’d been given prescription medication and a doctor’s appointment.
Turning to Rodriguez, the nurse said, “You have already been seen, and there is nothing we can do,” according to a report by the county office of public safety, which provides security at the hospital.
Parked in the emergency room lobby in a wheelchair after police left, she fell to the floor. She lay on the linoleum, writhing in pain, for 45 minutes, as staffers worked at their desks and numerous patients looked on.
Aside from one patient who briefly checked on her condition, no one helped her. A janitor cleaned the floor around her as if she were a piece of furniture. A closed-circuit camera captured everyone’s apparent indifference. . . .
David Janssen, the county’s chief administrative officer, said the incident is being taken very seriously. In a rare move, his office took over control of the inquiry from the county health department and the office of public safety.
“There’s no excuse — and I don’t think anybody believes that there is,” Janssen said.
Over the last 3 1/2 years, King-Harbor has reeled from crisis to crisis.
Based on serious patient-care lapses, it has lost its national accreditation and federal funding. Hundreds of staff members have been disciplined and services cut.
Janssen said he was concerned that the incident would divert attention from preparing the hospital for a crucial review in six weeks that is to determine whether it can regain federal funding.
If the hospital fails, it could be forced to close.
“It certainly isn’t going to help,” Janssen said.[that’s not at the top of my list of things that don’t help — rk]
charles.ornstein@latimes.com
Times staff writers Stuart Pfeifer and Susannah Rosenblatt contributed to this report.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tapes show operators ignored pleas to send ambulance to L.A. hospital
Updated: 10:43 a.m. ET June 13, 2007
LOS ANGELES - A woman who lay bleeding on the emergency room floor of a troubled inner-city hospital died after 911 dispatchers refused to contact paramedics or an ambulance to take her to another facility, newly released tapes of the emergency calls reveal.
Edith Isabel Rodriguez, 43, died of a perforated bowel on May 9 at Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital. Her death was ruled accidental by the Los Angeles County coroner’s office.
Relatives said Rodriguez was bleeding from the mouth and writhing in pain for 45 minutes while she was at a hospital waiting area. Experts have said she could have survived had she been treated early enough.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Woman’s Death increases Pressure on LA Hospital to close down
A Los Angeles county hospital is under immense pressure trying to survive amid reports of negligence in patient care. The plea for help from a woman dying in the emergency room of the Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital seemed to have been ignored by the in house staff. Like wise two emergency calls to the 911 too was rejected by the dispatchers, ultimately leading to the death of the woman. Newly released tapes of 911 calls reveal that a woman who lay bleeding on the floor of the emergency room died last month after dispatchers refused to contact paramedics or an ambulance to take her to another facility.Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital, once a symbol of hope in the inner city, struggled Wednesday to survive amid new reports of breakdowns in patient care, the replacement of its chief medical officer and an ultimatum to correct long-running problems or close. Edith Isabel Rodriguez, 43, had been taken to Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital for treatment of what the county coroner later determined was a perforated bowel on May 9th. She waited 45 minutes, without treatment, before she died. The County coroner believes that she would have survived if had received timely help.The whole incident was caught on camera, the video from an ER camera showed staff members and patients standing by as a janitor cleaned the floor around Rodriguez, who was buried Tuesday in Tehachapi, Calif.
The woman's treatment was 'callous, it was a horrible thing,' Los Angeles County Supervisor Yvonne Burke said Wednesday .
Earlier this week, the county Board of Supervisors grilled health officials about conditions at the public hospital and ordered them to return in two weeks with a plan to deal with a hospital shutdown if it is unable to correct deficiencies laid out in a federal inspection that concluded emergency room patients were in 'immediate jeopardy.' After the inspection last week, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services gave the hospital 23 days to correct problems or face a loss of federal funding that provides much of its budget. That could force it to close. It was the fourth time in less than four years that the hospital had received the warning.The federal review was based, in part, on a report that a man with a brain tumor waited four days in the emergency room when he needed to be transferred to another facility for lifesaving brain surgery.Dr. Roger Peeks, the hospital's chief medical officer, was placed on 'ordered absence' Monday and replaced on an interim basis by Dr. Robert Splawn, senior medical officer for the county health department. Department spokesman Michael Wilson confirmed the change but declined to elaborate Wednesday, saying it was a personnel matter.L.A. County supervisor Zev Yarovslosky called the hospital's actions a moral and human breakdown.Burke said the county-run hospital, which handles 49,000 emergency patients a year, is a crucial facility and efforts should be made to keep it open because nearby hospitals could not handle the load. Health officials are 'doing everything in our power to help MLK-Harbor meet national standards,' Dr. Bruce Chernof, director and chief medical officer of health department, said in a statement.Sheriff's department spokesman Steve Whitmore said the department was reviewing the handling of the 911 calls by two of its dispatchers.Source-Medindia
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Why did you choose to work in the ED?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mourners including family and friends of Edith Rodriguez pay their respects at the Tehachapi Public Cemetery. Rodriguez died at King-Harbor May 9 after writhing on the floor for 45 minutes.
(Mark Boster / LAT)
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