Julie Wilson
Thirty-year-old John Verrier died in a NYC emergency waiting room on January 19 after waiting eight hours for hospital care due to a rash, reported ABC News. Reports confirm that his named was called at least three times over the facility’s PA system since his 10 p.m. arrival, yet hospital staff failed to check on him when he did not respond to his name being called.
While it’s unclear exactly what time Verrier passed away, security guards discovered him slumped over in a chair cold, blue and stiff around 6:00 a.m. the next morning. Surveillance footage shows that the young man was active and moving around 3:45 a.m.
An emergency room employee working that night gave an anonymous interview, in fear of retaliation from the hospital, stating that he felt the incident was being “covered up” by the facility in an attempt to conceal any wrongdoing. The hospital employee blames the incident on short staffing and admits that there’s no procedure or policy that includes checking up on patients once they’ve received the initial vital checks upon arrival.
Attempting to avoid being at fault, the hospital claims that they did in fact check on Verrier several times; however, the anonymous hospital worker disputes these claims, calling them “100 percent false.” He added, “[W]as his name called? Yes.” But, “Based on [the] number of people in the waiting room it is impossible to check on each person physically.”
Hospital spokesperson Steven Clark insists that security checked on several patients, including Verrier, affirming that “all hospital guidelines were met.” The ER worker said, if the hospital fails to own up to their mistake, it will certainly happen again.
At this time, Verrier’s cause of death is unknown.
Spokesman Clark says it is the patient’s responsibility to report to the doctor once your name is called. However, it’s clearly impossible for extremely ill, or even yet, deathly ill patients to do so, pointing toward the ridiculousness of not having some sort of procedure that includes staff checking on waiting room patients, assessing their condition and offering estimates as to when they might be seen.
Sadly, Verrier’s family discovered their son’s death on the local news and has since reached out, asking the public for help and information related to the night of John’s death.
A recent Facebook message posted yesterday by John’s brother Chris of New Haven, Conn., after slight editing, states:
Hello to Facebook friends and public. I am reaching out to everyone and everybody the best way I can. As some of you may all know and heard about my younger brother Jon who passed away in St. Barnabas hospital on Jan. 20, 2014, myself, my mom and my other brother are trying to put this puzzle together of how he died and nobody noticed in the emergency room; it’s tragic and so painful, it’s a loss that pain can’t describe. So I am asking for help if anyone out there was at St. Barnabas between 1-19-2014 after 10 pm to 1-20-2014 around 6 am or anywhere in between that time. Please if you know something or saw him there while you were there. We gladly need your help to piece this together. So friends ask friends and spread the word. If anybody has any info, please send me a friend request and inbox me please. I am asking because this is so important; don’t let this tragic incident go unnoticed, so if anyone knows something or saw something, please contact us.
Thank you, a brokenhearted brother.
As the implementation of Obamacare progresses, more and more patients will see shortages in physician care, including both preventive care practices and emergency room situations.
As medical practices prepare to deal with an influx of patients under the new healthcare reform, many physicians are trying to decide on the best course of action in response to increasing financial demands. Dr. Charles Cutler, a private practitioner in Norristown, Pa., says, “A lot of patients that went down to emergency rooms won’t be getting care in the emergency room anymore. We’ll be doing more preventive care, more screening.”
The progression of the new healthcare reform will force more patients into higher medical expenditures, penalties for the uninsured and even the blatant denial of medical help. Unfortunately, this process is expected to worsen before it improves.
