# After Too-long Er Wait, Woman With Chest Pains Leaves...dies Later



## Laela (Jan 11, 2020)

*A Milwaukee woman who sat in the ER with chest pain for hours left because of the wait time — and died soon after*
Rory Linnane, Milwaukee Journal SentinelPublished 8:00 a.m. CT Jan. 11, 2020






Tashonna Ward, a 25-year-old day care teacher from Milwaukee, died Jan. 2 while trying to find a doctor to help her.

Ward's family is seeking answers from Froedtert Hospital, where she spent more than two hours in the emergency department before she left to find quicker care and, later, collapsed. She had reported chest pain and tightness of breath. 

The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office has not determined the cause of death. Its report doesn't say whether Ward was admitted or seen by a doctor at Froedtert before she left.

Ward's family says she was kept in the waiting room and was not under any monitoring when she decided to leave.

A spokesperson for Froedtert Hospital provided a statement: "The family is in our thoughts and has our deepest sympathy. We cannot comment further at this time." Officials did not answer questions from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about the death or general emergency department procedures. 
___
Ward's family members said they are scheduled to meet with representatives from the hospital next week.

"How can you triage someone with shortness of breath and chest pain, and stick them in the lobby?" said Ward's cousin, Andrea Ward. "Froedtert needs to change their policy."

Ward began to have chest pain and trouble breathing while she was working that afternoon at L&M Links child care center on 80th and Burleigh streets. Ward's sister drove her to Froedtert Hospital; they checked in at 4:58 p.m., according to the medical examiner's report. 

Hospital staff checked her heartbeat with an electrocardiogram, which appeared normal, according to the report. The chest X-ray revealed cardiomegaly: an enlarged heart. 

Ward had heard this before — in March, when her baby died after the umbilical cord wrapped around the baby's neck, Ward was told she had developed an enlarged heart during the pregnancy, according to the medical examiner's report. 

The report doesn't say whether Ward retained an enlarged heart since the pregnancy, or if she had a more recent flare-up. Cardiomegaly, which can be temporary or permanent, can put people at greater risk for blood clots, cardiac arrest and other heart problems. 
____
After the tests at Froedtert on Jan. 2, Ward's family said she was asked to stay in the waiting room until staff could provide further medical attention. The medical examiner's report does not indicate what happened after the tests. 

*At 5:45 p.m.*, Ward posted on Facebook, “I really hope I’m not in this emergency room all night.” 

*At 5:56 p.m.,* Ward's mother called to check in on her, according to Andrea Ward, who pieced together a timeline based on phone logs, texts and Facebook posts. Tashonna Ward was “inseparable” from her mother and sister, the cousin said.

“They did everything together,” Andrea Ward said. “Tashonna and her mother had the dream relationship everybody would want to have with a parent. Very, very close.”

Tashonna Ward told her mom she'd been given tests, was waiting to see a doctor and had gone back to the front desk multiple times asking to be seen, Andrea Ward said. 

*At 6:35 p.m*., she texted her family that she was still in the waiting room. 

*At 7:35 p.m.*, Tashonna Ward wrote on Facebook that she’d been told she might have to wait two to six hours to see a doctor.

“Idk what they can do about the emergency system at freodert (sic) but they damn sure need to do something,” she wrote. “I been here since 4:30 something for shortness of breath, and chest pains for them to just say it’s a two to SIX hour wait to see a dr.”

*Froedtert publishes current wait times at froedtert.com/wait-times.*

Past patients have spent an average of four hours and 44 minutes in Froedtert's emergency department before being admitted to the hospital, according to data from October 2017 to October 2018 compiled by ProPublica, though times vary widely based on the urgency of the condition and arrival time. 

About 3% of patients in that period left Froedtert's emergency department without being seen, according to the data. 

The medical examiner's report does not indicate any wait time provided to Ward. It states that she left around 7:30 p.m. because she felt she had been waiting too long and had decided to go to an urgent care clinic. It had been about 2.5 hours since her arrival, according to the report. 

Ward's sister, Brianna, picked her up and stopped at their mother's house to grab Ward's insurance card, Andrea Ward said. 

*At 8:39 p.m.*, Froedtert staff called Ward's cellphone and her sister picked up, according to the medical examiner's report. By that point, Ward had collapsed and was already in an ambulance on her way back to Froedtert. The report doesn't say why Froedtert staff made the phone call.

*The ambulance arrived at 9:07 p.m*., according to the report. At that point, Ward was unresponsive, the report states and was soon pronounced dead. 
*



*
Tashonna Ward 
(Photo: Submitted by Andrea Ward)

Andrea Ward found out what happened from her cousin's mother, Yolanda. 

“She called me and said, ‘My baby stopped breathing,’ ” Andrea said. “And I zoomed over. And she was swearing and she said she was just at the freaking hospital and they kept her waiting.” 

Yolanda Ward referred an interview request to her niece, who is helping her manage the many tasks suddenly at hand.

“She’s very overwhelmed,” Andrea Ward said. “Too much stress. Her blood pressure has shot up. It’s all too much.”

The family members have many questions for the hospital. As news of Ward's death spread on Facebook, many people shared their own stories of waiting for hours in emergency rooms. 

"I was so shocked to see the comments," Andrea Ward said. "What that means is people don’t know how to advocate for themselves."

Experts in the field said the main question in the case is whether Tashonna Ward was seen by a doctor in the time she was at the emergency department. 

Martha Gulati, chief of cardiology at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, reviewed the medical examiner's reports at the request of the Journal Sentinel. 

*She said patients with chest pain and trouble breathing — classic symptoms of heart problems — should generally be seen by a physician within minutes *to determine the cause and consider treatment options. 

Gulati, who studies heart problems in women, said Ward's story is "far too common," as such symptoms are less likely to be taken seriously in women, especially younger women. 

"Sadly she chalks up to another statistic but she was somebody’s sister, somebody’s potential mother, somebody’s daughter," Gulati said. "We need to start listening to women and taking them seriously."

Howard Mell, an emergency physician and spokesperson for the American College of Emergency Physicians, said it's hard to judge the triage decisions of hospital staff without knowing what other patients the hospital may have been prioritizing at the time. 

"Unfortunately a lot of times there are no beds and decisions have to get made as to who gets one of the few beds left and who can wait," Mell said. "To a certain degree, part of triage is the art of the guess."

Mell said emergency department staffs across the country are contending with overcrowding, making difficult choices with not enough beds and staff, particularly during flu season. 

It's not clear whether the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which can discipline hospitals for violations of emergency care requirements, will investigate the incident. A spokesperson said she could not comment as hospitals should not have notice of any possible inspection. 

Andrea Ward hopes to see changes made on behalf of her cousin, who she affectionately called Shonna.

"She would always say, 'I’m Shonna because I’m sunshine,'" Andrea said.

"She was sunshine." 

Andrea Ward is raising funds for funeral services at bit.ly/shonnaward. 
__________________
_Rory Linnane reports on public health and works to make information accessible so readers can improve their lives and hold officials accountable. Contact Rory at (414) 801-1525 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @RoryLinnane. _


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## LostInAdream (Jan 11, 2020)

That’s terrible! So sorry for their loss. 

I hate going to the ER, so thankful for urgent clinics.


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## HappilyLiberal (Jan 11, 2020)

The hospital where I did my Chemo treatments is spectacular--with the exception of their emergency room.  One time I went in there.  They took my blood pressure, it was sky high, they gave me something to bring it down then sent me home with a $250 ER bill.  They sent me home despite the fact I had been admitted through the emergency room three times already because the Chemo kept trying to take out my kidneys.  I was supposed to see my Oncologist the next day for Chemo the following Monday.  I cancelled that appointment and couldn't get in to see him until the following Thursday.  When he looked at the blood test results, HE HIT THE ROOF!  My creatinine levels were at 5--kidney failure levels.  He sent me right upstairs to the Chemo center and told them to put me on saline until he could get me checked in to the hospital.  He checked me in under HIS orders.  Those folks were real nice to me because he was roasting all their butts!  It took them five days to get my creatinine levels back to normal.  They also had to give me a blood transfusion because my iron levels were ridiculously low.

He was over in the cancer center giving the folks in the hospital orders on what they could and could not do for me/to me!

So yeah, most emergency rooms, unless you go in bleeding, are trash!


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## Theresamonet (Jan 11, 2020)

2 hours wait in the ER is actually not that long. I’ve been there allll day before. I’m not sure why the hospital is responsible. There are a lot of people in the ER waiting for care, they all can’t be assisted at once.


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## intellectualuva (Jan 12, 2020)

What a sad story. I'm sorry for that family's loss. 

I just learned from a friends recent experience that if you arrive via ambulance you wont wait, so I guess if I ever have an emergency I will no longer be driving myself.

I drove myself in for my appendectomy. The rushed me on through because luckily my triage nurse knew what was going on immediately. If they hadn't, I likely wouldn't be here.


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## dancinstallion (Jan 12, 2020)

Theresamonet said:


> 2 hours wait in the ER is actually not that long. I’ve been there allll day before. I’m not sure why the hospital is responsible. There are a lot of people in the ER waiting for care, they all can’t be assisted at once.



Chest pain and shortness of breath takes priority so she should have been seen first.


I am wondering though since her tests came back normal if that is why she was sent back to the waiting room. She still should have been monitored for a few hours. 

May she RIP.


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## Farida (Jan 12, 2020)

Do they not have triage in this ER? Chest pains and shortage of breath should have had her seen immediately.


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## dicapr (Jan 12, 2020)

Farida said:


> Do they not have triage in this ER? Chest pains and shortage of breath should have had her seen immediately.



They did see her. Her EKG did not indicate she was having a heart attack. It’s unfortunate but her screening was negative. They did triage her appropriately but for whatever reason the screening test did not indicate she was in a life threatening situation. It’s tragic but it’s not like the hospital didn’t triage her.


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## dicapr (Jan 12, 2020)

dancinstallion said:


> Chest pain and shortness of breath takes priority so she should have been seen first.
> 
> 
> I am wondering though since her tests came back normal if that is why she was sent back to the waiting room. She still should have been monitored for a few hours.
> ...



The normal test is exactly why she was sent back. Life threatening situations come first. The test didn’t indicate that she was in a life threatening situation. Now whether the test was done correctly, ect remains to be seen.


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## Everything Zen (Jan 12, 2020)

^^^A test result indicating an enlarged heart along with her other symptoms is NOT normal. I understand that she was initially brought to the back for those tests but pushing her out to the lobby under those conditions when they must have had a bed for her in the first place is foul.


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## Laela (Jan 12, 2020)

I can't  imagine expecting someone with chest pains and trouble breathing to wait in a lobby all day with people with less life-threatening ailments. They should've kept her back there and monitored her after that "normal " test. Keep in mind she had not been seen by a doctor but other medical staff who didn't  make the right calls IMO..the hospital bares some responsiblity...
I have to wonder if she had a personal dr who would've been monitoring her heart since her pregnancy..she was insured.


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## ThirdEyeBeauty (Jan 12, 2020)

These hospitals are getting worse and worse in patient care.  They should have brought her in for additional examinations.  She complained of shortness of breath and chest pain.  Try to get to the bottom of that. Problems breathing should be taken seriously.  Sometimes you have to be your own advocate and be respectful but persistence.


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## dicapr (Jan 12, 2020)

Everything Zen said:


> ^^^A test result indicating an enlarged heart along with her other symptoms is NOT normal. I understand that she was initially brought to the back for those tests but pushing her out to the lobby under those conditions when they must have had a bed for her in the first place is foul.



Her EKG-which many ER’s use as a screening test for a heart attack was normal per the article. They didn’t not tell her to go home or to leave. They indicated that she should have stayed in a facility where she could have gotten immediate medical attention if her symptoms progressed. She got frustrated and left. It is natural to want to blame the hospital but they did not discharge her. She decided to discontinue her care.


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## Reinventing21 (Jan 12, 2020)

I could cry my eyes out for her and her family for real. The ER system needs to be overhauled. If anything good can come from this, it needs to be that. Also, a doctor himself said women are not taken seriously. (Of course there could be the added layer on top of that). My prayers are with the family.


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## dicapr (Jan 12, 2020)

Laela said:


> I can't  imagine expecting someone with chest pains and trouble breathing to wait in a lobby all day with people with less life-threatening ailments. They should've kept her back there and monitored her after that "normal " test. Keep in mind she had not been seen by a doctor but other medical staff who didn't  make the right calls IMO..the hospital bares some responsiblity...
> I have to wonder if she had a personal dr who would've been monitoring her heart since her pregnancy..she was insured.



OK. When you go to the ER triage has a protocol that is agreed upon by the medical staff. If X is abnormal you get seen immediately is X is borderline order Y. If she tested negative per protocol despite having symptoms the staff would have been able to send her to the waiting room per protocol.

 These protocols are seen as standing orders agreed on by the ER physicians and are supposed to streamline things. The only way the employees would be at fault is if they didn’t follow the protocols.

What happened to this woman was tragic. But people are ignoring the most important thing here. The ED didn’t release her from care they wanted her to wait. Unfortunately she did not advocate for herself and let the triage nurse know that her symptoms had gotten worse. Instead she decided to leave medical care and tragically died. If she left AMA and if she signed papers there is nothing the family can do about it.


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## Everything Zen (Jan 12, 2020)

Leaving an ER that you’re already checked into to go somewhere else is not the best decision but she was told that it would be another 2-6 hours to see a doctor after waiting almost three hours with chest pain and dyspnea. We don’t have all the information and yes everyone won’t be saved but this is a quality of care problem that is all too common and needs to be addressed. Black people always somehow manage to “slip through the cracks”  when it comes to these things so I’m not going to blame a sick black woman in distress for trying to make the best decision that she thought she could at the time. I would love to see the triage list of patients they were dealing with that day and I’m actually surprised to hear about this coming from Froedert.


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## Reinventing21 (Jan 12, 2020)

She went to hospital around 4:30, gave up around 7:30, got her call back at 8:39, but had already collapsed. Tashonna is not to blame. She was desperate for help.

My takeaways:
1) If you feel you are critical, call an ambulance. Many don't because of the costs, but if you really start worrying, call one anyway.

2) If you are with someone at the ER, be their advocate. Exaggerate, be theatrical in a serious way if necessary.

3) If you are by yourself, ^^ #2. Shoo, call ambulance, 911 while there if necessary.

4) ERs need better systems in place.

5) There needs to be assistance of some kind to reduce costs of ambulance.


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## Reinventing21 (Jan 12, 2020)

@Everything Zen Exactly! And I want to know too!


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## Theresamonet (Jan 12, 2020)

dancinstallion said:


> Chest pain and shortness of breath takes priority so she should have been seen first.



Seen first before whom? This is the ER, we don’t know the number of other people who were also there for chest pains and shortness of breath or worse. Everyone can’t be seen first. And she was one who had a normal test, so she would be less of a priority than those with abnormal results. 

Again, 2 hours wait in the ER is not long in my experience.


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## Reinventing21 (Jan 12, 2020)

^^Just because 2 hours is the norm, does not mean that it is not a long time to wait. Waiting for 2 hours IS long when you have a true emergency. And it was obviously too long for her.

I wish she had called an ambulance first. This is a wake up call for everyone.


Eta: but u r right that we don't know who else was before her. But blaming her is not the answer. The system needs fixing.


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## ThirdEyeBeauty (Jan 12, 2020)

Ambulance is not great either sometimes they make the call that you do not need them.  Healthcare is definitely broken.  I imagine it was extremely uncomfortable sitting there with shortness of breath and chest pain.


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## chocolat79 (Jan 13, 2020)

I feel horrible for this woman and her family AND she actually didn't wait that long, in ER terms. In our facility, chest pain/SOB used to take precedence, but it doesn't always. Plus, you have to have the beds to properly monitor patients, and she'd be one who'd need to be monitored. 

In our facility, because there are so many mentally ill people (due to closing of mental health facilities), they actually take up beds that could be used for actual medical emergencies. And you can't put THEM in the lobby. If it were me, I'd either use stroke-like symptoms OR suicidal ideation and then mention my actual medical emergency. It's sad that it has to be this way, but there are so many variables to these situations and it's the patients who suffer.


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## winterinatl (Jan 13, 2020)

dancinstallion said:


> Chest pain and shortness of breath takes priority so she should have been seen first.
> 
> 
> I am wondering though since her tests came back normal if that is why she was sent back to the waiting room. She still should have been monitored for a few hours.
> ...


I went in for chest pains once. I was first in line, got my EKG. It was fine. I went back and waited five hours for the dr visit.


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## Everything Zen (Jan 13, 2020)

Like the article said young women with these symptoms are often not taken as seriously (ex/ anxiety, panic attacks, etc. will make a person think symptoms are more serious than they are. But the enlarged heart and SOB is something else that I wonder if she was anything other than an overweight black woman would they have taken just a little more time with her? I’m tired of seeing people who look like me as the poster children for these stories.


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## Miss_Luna (Jan 13, 2020)

According to the article, this hospital has a history of long waiting times in the ER. Obviously there are efficiency issues. 
Yes, this young woman died, but who knows the total calamity, morbidity and mortality, associated with individuals that have had to wait this long in this ER. This should not be tolerated, by any means.

Also, who read her scans? I skimmed the article (apologies), but did an ER physician send her back to the lobby or some other medical staff? Did a qualified healthcare professional tell her to wait? The stress of sitting somewhere that long, under those physical conditions, would've probably caused her to go into cardiac arrest in the hospital.


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## Laela (Jan 13, 2020)

A few years back, I'd gone in for chest pains but not shortness of breath.. I was scared. Went to the ER and waited about 20 mins . I got to see the doctor within 2 hours after some tests. When he finally met with me, he went over my chart and scared the daylights out of me with telling me I may have had  a heart attack in the past based on my EKG. I questioned that and he scowled at the reading and seemed concerned. Said he'd be back.... he came back... with MY report ... and apologize for meeting with me based on the report of another patient, an 80-something year old woman who had a heart attack in the past. This was a reputable hospital, Emory... the staff gave him the wrong report! So I know for a fact ER's can make mistakes.

I thought you get discharged by the ER doc, after seeing him/her. The woman in the OP didn't get that far, for her to choose to be discharged. So, from my perspective, their actions and the long wait time caused her to be _turned away-_- to see help quicker. I think she fell through the cracks. I'd love to see that triage reporting for the day she was there too



dicapr said:


> Her EKG-which many ER’s use as a screening test for a heart attack was normal per the article. They didn’t not tell her to go home or to leave. They indicated that she should have stayed in a facility where she could have gotten immediate medical attention if her symptoms progressed. She got frustrated and left. It is natural to want to blame the hospital but they did not discharge her. She decided to discontinue her care.


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## TrulyBlessed (Jan 13, 2020)

Reinventing21 said:


> She went to hospital around 4:30, gave up around 7:30, got her call back at 8:39, but had already collapsed. Tashonna is not to blame. She was desperate for help.
> 
> My takeaways:
> 1) If you feel you are critical, call an ambulance. Many don't because of the costs, but if you really start worrying, call one anyway.
> ...



I can personally attest more than once that calling 911 can get you in a room and seen with the quickness. It may not be the case for everyone but it’s definitely been my experience.


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## Everything Zen (Jan 13, 2020)

^^^ but that bill w/o insurance tho... 
I understand why people are ready to just leave this earth after my credit tanked waking up to EMTs being called every time I seized and someone called 911 bc I had a stress related seizure disorder and knew I would be discharged from the ER in a few hours. I used to just burst into tears thinking about the damn bill begging them not to take me in. SMH

Ambulance bill costs 60/mile where I’m from before moving to Chicago.


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## Farida (Jan 14, 2020)

dicapr said:


> They did see her. Her EKG did not indicate she was having a heart attack. It’s unfortunate but her screening was negative. They did triage her appropriately but for whatever reason the screening test did not indicate she was in a life threatening situation. It’s tragic but it’s not like the hospital didn’t triage her.


Thank you for your informative posts. Yeah, it was a long wait but if she had stayed and gotten worse she would have received immediate help. So sad. I usually hate these stories because I know due to privacy laws the hospitals cannot comment. The other side on the other hand can say whatever they want to.


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## Farida (Jan 14, 2020)

Part of the problem is so many people going to ERs when it’s not an emergency. Either because they freak out or because they don’t have insurance and so cannot go anywhere else for care.


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## Laela (Jan 15, 2020)




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## Laela (Jan 17, 2020)

There is a GoFundME set up for this young woman's funeral. Click on image for the link..


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## HappilyLiberal (Jan 17, 2020)

ThirdEyeBeauty said:


> These hospitals are getting worse and worse in patient care.  They should have brought her in for additional examinations.  She complained of shortness of breath and chest pain.  Try to get to the bottom of that. Problems breathing should be taken seriously.  Sometimes you have to be your own advocate and be respectful but persistence.



It's not most hospitals.  When you are admitted, most hospitals do a pretty good job.  The emergency rooms are trash at triage.


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## michelle81 (Jan 17, 2020)

I only skimmed most posts, but a huge issue here IMO is her age and race. Plenty of studies show blacks absolutely do not get the same care as whites and some other minorities.

I agree with @Miss_Luna and wondering who read the EKG to say it was normal? EKG's give an electronic "readout or interpretation", but IMO the interpretation needs to be disregarded and actually read by someone who knows what they are looking at. A physician, NP or PA with plenty of experience reading EKG's can interpret it in less than 2 minutes. I'm positive that hospital is now going back over that EKG to see if some small discrepancy was missed that should not have been.

Another thought I had. The OP says the cause of death has not been determined yet. It very well could have been CHF, a pulmonary embolism, pulmonary edema, etc. - which more than likely would not show up early on an EKG. I would also question whether cardiac enzymes were done and if she was examined by a provider before being sent to the lobby.

Plenty here for a malpractice lawyer to have a field day with - this one will definitely settle out of court. Hopefully this ER and others will make changes if they are deemed liable.

Can't say I really blame the patient for leaving. She was obviously in some kind of real distress and knew it and obviously was not being cared for appropriately.


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## michelle81 (Jan 17, 2020)

intellectualuva said:


> What a sad story. I'm sorry for that family's loss.
> 
> I just learned from a friends recent experience that if you arrive via ambulance you wont wait, so I guess if I ever have an emergency I will no longer be driving myself.
> 
> I drove myself in for my appendectomy. The rushed me on through because luckily my triage nurse knew what was going on immediately. If they hadn't, I likely wouldn't be here.



To the highlighted, I'm really not sure. From what I've seen that doesn't work and I think it's a myth. It gets you maybe triaged quicker, but so many people use an ambulance as a cab that the ER folks a lot of times view it as just that.
I've seen more than I can count people coming in by ambulance, triaged and then told to have a seat in the lobby (which is honestly how it should be). ER staff know that not all who come in via ambulance are there for a true emergency. Tashonna was obviously an emergency, but I'm not sure if an ambulance ride would have helped her or not.


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## chocolat79 (Jan 18, 2020)

michelle81 said:


> To the highlighted, I'm really not sure. From what I've seen that doesn't work and I think it's a myth. It gets you maybe triaged quicker, but so many people use an ambulance as a cab that the ER folks a lot of times view it as just that.
> I've seen more than I can count people coming in by ambulance, triaged and then told to have a seat in the lobby (which is honestly how it should be). ER staff know that not all who come in via ambulance are not there for a true emergency. Tashonna was obviously an emergency, but I'm not sure if an ambulance ride would have helped her or not.


Yep! That's how it is at the hospital where I work.  They'll take you right off the stretcher and put you in a wheelchair and place you right in the lobby if they don't deem it a true emergency. Happens all the time.

Ironically,  she probably could've lived if she had stayed, despite the wait.  If she'd fallen out in the ER lobby,  they may have been able to save her. NOT blaming this young lady ,  but I wish she had stayed, she may have still been alive.

ETA: The hospital called her an hour later,  which indicates she probably had abnormal lab work and when she didn't answer when they called out to the lobby, they tried her cellphone.  One more hour wait would've probably saved her life.  

People don't think about it,  but if you elope from the hospital and go somewhere else, you have to start over and wait there too and especially in the evenings,  which are generally the busiest times.


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## michelle81 (Jan 18, 2020)

chocolat79 said:


> Yep! That's how it is at the hospital where I work.  They'll take you right off the stretcher and put you in a wheelchair and place you right in the lobby if they don't deem it a true emergency. Happens all the time.
> 
> Ironically,  she probably could've lived if she had stayed, despite the wait.  If she'd fallen out in the ER lobby,  they may have been able to save her. NOT blaming this young lady ,  but I wish she had stayed, she may have still been alive.
> 
> ...



I agree with the odds are she would have had a much better chance of survival if she had gone down while in the lobby and that's very unfortunate that at that point she would have been taken seriously.


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## michelle81 (Jan 18, 2020)

I have very strong feelings about things like this because of my job and even more so for extremely personal reasons. 

I've had someone (my daughter) be a victim being young, black, and female in the ER and not taken seriously along with treated horribly as well as having a detrimental outcome. All the advocating in triage and in the exam room, persistence with the doctor and nurses, telling that doctor what I knew was wrong, patiently and calmly telling him at first and then arguing with him at the end as well as flat out asking "Are you telling me that you are doing the exact same thing for my daughter that you would do for your child or one of your colleague's children?"; did not change his opinion of us, take her seriously, treat us like anything other than an annoyance, etc.

There's a lot of good providers out there, but ER staff can become really complacent and jaded, that's until huge lawsuits and bad publicity come their way.
Anyway, rant over and that's a subject I could go on about for weeks and weeks.


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## Laela (Jan 22, 2020)

I'm boggled by the contrast... Black lives really don't matter... just looking at the GoFundMe's for the deaths of two young women, one black (barely $5K raised since Jan5) and one white (over $65K in a matter of days) truly is something to be sad about... SMH


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## Reinventing21 (Jan 22, 2020)

Laela said:


> I'm boggled by the contrast... Black lives really don't matter... just looking at the GoFundMe's for the deaths of two young women, one black (barely $5K raised since Jan5) and one white (over $65K in a matter of days) truly is something to be sad about... SMH




Wait.  Who are you referring to?  I mean who is the white woman and her story? Was it the same scenario?


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## Laela (Jan 22, 2020)

Story A >>  *After Too-long Er Wait, Woman With Chest Pains Leaves...dies Later*
GoFundMe

Story B >>>*Woman Who Was Acting As A Surrogate For A Family Died While Giving Birth*
GoFundMe

It's a mere observation, for those who care 




Reinventing21 said:


> Wait.  Who are you referring to?  I mean who is the white woman and her story? Was it the same scenario?


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## SpiritJunkie (Jan 23, 2020)

Laela said:


> Story A >>  *After Too-long Er Wait, Woman With Chest Pains Leaves...dies Later*
> GoFundMe
> 
> Story B >>>*Woman Who Was Acting As A Surrogate For A Family Died While Giving Birth*
> ...


wow! well this is how our society thinks of us.....further confirmation we're at the bottom of the totem pole unfortunately..


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## msbettyboop (Jan 23, 2020)

My God, this is terrible. The two times I went to complain about chest pain in a hospital, they like pounced on me and wouldn't let me go until they'd run every available test on me to make sure everything was fine. I almost called a friend to come rescue me because they wouldn't let me leave. 

In one of those cases, they kept me in the hospital all day and ran an EKG or something every hour or so. 

I found out later on they were so crazy because anything to do with the chest/heart is given high priority.


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