911 Operators refuse to help dying woman *Edith Isabel Rodriguez*

This story has outraged and saddened me. First off, my heartfelt condolences go out to Edith's family. This is a tragedy that proably could have been voided. At any rate, the hospital staff AND 911 Dispatch treated this family very poorly indeed. I have listened to the 911 tapes and I was floored. No one should be treated that way. Especially the second call. This dispatcher was disciplined, but I doubt it was very harshly. And I think at the least he should have been suspended.

This woman and her boyfriend begged for help. She was on the floor "writhing in pain" and no one helped her, even though there were doctors and nurses all around. She was completely ignored. What kind of medical service is that? My personal opinion is that because she was a transient, no one cared. Not having the money to pay for needed medical assistance is NO REASON. And that is only an assumption! They thought she did not deserve help. It was also probably assumed that she just wanted pain medication. But don't you think that after the second visit to the ER that someone, anyone, would have cared????? Well, I want to announce that she was still a human being. She was in obvious pain and did not deserve to be ignore like that. And now they cannot just say "I am sorry". I would be interested to see what the videotape will show, too. I think every nurse and doctor who were in that ER and saw her or knew about her should be held accountable for the care she did not receive.

Apparently this is not the first time that this hospital has had problems like this. Several patients have died under "questionable circumstances" since 2003. The hosptial in question is Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital.

Last week, federal inspectors declared that patients at King-Harbor were in "immediate jeopardy" of harm or death and gave the hospital 23 days to correct procedures or lose certification. It was the fourth time in less than four years that the hospital had received the warning, according to The Los Angeles Times.

Report: 911 Operators Refused Aid to Woman Left to Die on L.A. ER Floor
Tragic Catch-911 for dying woman
Remembering Edith Rodriguez
LA Hospital Death Under Investigation
Woman Dies While Awaiting Help in an Emergency Room