Imamu Baraka, who has a psychotherapy practice in a building across the street from the Maryland Medical Center, Midtown Campus, was shocked on Tuesday when he watched employees of the hospital wheel a woman out and leave her at a bus stop. In frigid temperatures. In nothing more than a hospital gown and socks.
He rushed back to his office to get his cell phone because he worried that if he didn’t record what had happened that no one would believe him. You can see his recording below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqHpOIhW9vU
He grew increasingly angry but tried to keep his emotions in check as he repeatedly questioned the people who had left her.
The Bradenton Herald reports he said:
“At first I was shocked. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. And I move beyond that to the next level from being shocked. I became … irritated and fearful for the young lady. And then I became angry.
I asked them three times, I asked them specifically, ‘Are you going to leave this lady out here like this?’ They kept walking. They then went inside of the building.”1
When they didn’t answer him he went inside the building and found someone to speak to. When that person was unhelpful he asked to speak to the manager- who it turns out was the person he had been speaking to. Finding no help in the hospital, he called 911 However, when he asked the crew who responded where they would take her, “back to the hospital” was their answer. Yes, the same hospital that had just dumped her.
The president and CEO of the hospital, Dr. Mohan Suntha, told a news conference on Thursday that the hospital had failed. But that conference only came AFTER the video was posted to Facebook. Essentially they admitted they were wrong after they got caught.
“We believe firmly that we provided appropriate medical care to a patient who came to us in need, but where we absolutely failed, and where we own that failure, is in the demonstration of basic humanity and compassion as a patient was being discharged from our organization after having received that care.” 2
He went on to say that he does not believe the treatment the women received “in any way defines who we are as an organization.”3 We shall see.
The woman was discharged again on Tuesday evening. At this time it’s not been reported what happened to her. This is utterly unacceptable and shocking. We will update you as more information becomes available.
