And nobody stopped to help
It’s pretty graphic, but it’s right there, captured on video — a 49-year-old woman who had been waiting in a psychiatric emergency room at Kings County Hospital in Manhattan for nearly 24 hours, fell out of her chair and landed face-down on the floor, where she was ignored for 45 minutes.
The video shows people coming into the room and leaving, and no one even checks to see if she’s OK. By the time anyone does, she has died.
It sounds like something from a bad, dark science fiction novel about the world gone bad.
But then, so does the death of 200,000 people in eight years because they didn’t have access to health care. Count her as one of them.
According to the New York Times, she was Esmin Elizabeth Green, a native of Jamiaca. She worked with children and the elderly and had six children, the youngest of whom was 14. My heart goes out to her family.
To see the video, go to http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6743551142523684531&q=patient+dies&ei=mctqSK3GKJqarQL-yKznCw&hl=en
To read the New York Times account of the incident, go to http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/02/nyregion/02hosp.html
Tags: Second annual Eat at Mike’s
Reserve now
Life o' Mike sponsors its second annual Eat at Mike's, an evening of good food prepared by local chefs, at Tingles Cafe in downtown Asheville. The event also features silent and live auctions with items from Highlands Brewing, artist Angela C. Alexander and more.
Tickets to the dinner are $25; $20 for children 3-12 and free for children under 3.
To reserve, e-mail lifeomike@gmail.com. For more information, call 828-243-6712.
Patient Pals & Family Friends
Life o' Mike has a new peer support program for people newly diagnosed with chronic or serious illness or with a new disability and their caregivers.
Patient Pals are people who have experience with various illnesses and disabilities, who can help someone newly diagnosed or with a new disability work through the fear, frustration, confusion and grief often experienced in the first few months.
Family Friends are there to help caregivers and other family members grow into their new role.
People with new illness or disability fare better when they have a role model -- someone who can help them negotiate their new path in life.
We need volunteers, who are asked to donate a minimum of one hour a week. Training is free and includes information on active listening, ways to help and when to know more help is needed.
And of course, we need funding.
To learn more, call Leslie Boyd at 828-243-6712 or e-mail lifeomike@gmail.com.
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