Dear Editor,
I just read an article of yours from February and wanted you to be aware that hospitals across the country have been in violation of ADA compliance in Emergency Rooms by not allowing caretakers into their ERs [during COVID-19].
For example – Grady Hospital in Atlanta refused to allow my mentally handicapped nephew to be seen in their hospital for chest pain because his brother/caretaker needed to be with him 1) to ensure his condition wasn’t exacerbated by anxiety with strangers, and 2) to communicate his medical history of a heart condition and other serious illnesses. They were not permitted into the ER and told to leave.
Upon driving as fast as they could to get to Cartersville Medical Center where they live – they were also told that his brother was not permitted into the hospital, where my handicapped nephew was seen and diagnosed with “idiopathic chest pains” and released a short while later without [in my opinion] adequate care.
My handicapped nephew is a grown man at 23 and 300+lbs. He wears diapers and has the mental capacity of a child and a history of heart problems. We didn’t think we would be capable of taking him to another hospital due to the maltreatment. But the next day, as his pain was so bad, his brother managed to take him to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital and again was refused the accommodations for his brother to accompany him. His grandmother finally “raised enough cain” at Kennestone that they permitted her to go in and he was admitted for observation for 24 hrs. and released with a referral. My nephew may have to have heart surgery this week. We have been left without actual treatment for his disease, and with ongoing pain, for a week now.
In a statement put out by the Office of Civil Rights on June 9th, the ADA Title II and III should require hospitals to refrain from such action; however telephone calls to hospitals in the area confirm this is policy. In fact, a person at Grady Hospital verified that no patient in their ER is allowed to be accompanied. Hence the refusal of service on September 30, 2020. This happened after a formal complaint to DOJ and OCR regarding Connecticut hospitals. Other states have similar situations going on.
I have made complaints to state and federal officials to include the DOJ, Joint Commission of Hospitals in Georgia, the AMA, and everyone from the governor’s office to the hospitals themselves.
I’m writing to inform you that people are dying with rationed healthcare in hospitals and after attempting to be seen in hospitals across the country. Hospitals that do not seem to care about their needs, medical history, or mental state of their patients. I feel this is a matter that needs to be public! And I need your help!
All I have asked from the risk management departments of each hospital is that their security guards and ER staff seek out aide training from ADA Centers funded nationally. If I can help prevent the loss of life for someone like my nephew, who could have easily died on September 30th, that’s my goal.
It’s happening every single day as if their hospital policies (actually being misrepresented on their websites and answering machines) are greater than the Americans With Disabilities Act, which was written to protect the weakest among us and their families.
Thanks for taking the time to read this. Please reach out if you have any ideas that might help me change the practices described herein!
Terri Arnold
Canton, George (Cherokee County)
Editor’s Note: Since early March, the country, and the entire world, have been dealing with the coronavirus pandemic known as COVID-19, which means that for months NO ONE was allowed as a guest with patients in hospitals or attending hospital appointments. Even by mid-summer, in some areas, only a single person was allowed in with the patient. This was done then and continues to be followed, in the interests of public health, to attempt to prevent the spread of what health experts say is a highly-infectious virus. As of Thursday morning, Oct. 8, Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center, which has allowed a single guest with a patine for the past several weeks, again closed access for visitors.
To date, more than 7.5 million American residents have been infected, and deaths now top 210,000.
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