The Woman Who Died in the Waiting Room

Let me say first that I too, am a tax payer, I also pay for health insurance through my employer, I absolutely cannot fathom the idea of families and children widthout health care.
How heartless, and cruel for you to make such a statement that because you as a taxpayer, assuming that you have carried her bill, have covered her and thus, the family should not be compensated for their loss.
No amount of money will ever bring their loved one back, no amount of money could replace her, however, I do not believe that the staff should not be held responsible, this law suit in my opinion is not a profit by any means.

If we taxpayers were footing the billing for this woman, then why should the family profit from her death?

Where were the family members shown in the picture at the funeral while Ms. Green was suffering? Is Ms. Green a legal resident of the US? If so, why no green card? Why did she leave such a "successful dress shop" in her home town and leave her family to come to the US? I feel Interlandi missed a few items of interest when writing the story. It is a tragic tale and no one should suffer such a fate. Her eldest daughter ought to take personal responsibility for the tragedy rather than $25 million from the hospital.

While what happened to Ms. Green was apalling in its totallity, the notion that a NURSE would check the conciousness status of a patient by poking her with a foot was beyond the pale. What callousness! As to the mekeup needing eyeball below, Ms. Johnson had repeatedly provided support to Ms. Green, according to the article, often enough to know the hospital would not allow her to stay with Ms. Green. She reports that Ms. Green was calling to Jesus as the attendants helped her into the ambulance so what's your answer on Christianity now? Such drivel. Go pray that you grow a brain.

My heart goes out to ms green family and many praises to paster johnson, she did the best she could for ms green and there is no reason she should feel the blame for ms greens death. we need more caring people in the world, just imagine if paster jonhson was not in her life . it is a cryingshame that she had to die like that .

I do not in any way excuse the failure of the Health Care Professional (I'm using that word loosely) to take care of Ms. Green.

But I do take exception to SamiAlise's comment. Sure, Canadians get "Free" health care (they pay about 40% of their income in taxes to pay for it). But there are planty of factual incidents where Canadians, who have already paid taxes to support their health care system, have been completely let down by an uncaring system.

1. McCreith experienced seizures on Jan. 2, 2006, and was diagnosed with a benign tumor based on a CT scan. A physician at a Canadian hospital declined to order an MRI to rule out a malignancy. McCreith???s family doctor agreed to request the more-definitive scan, but McCreith was told he would have to wait over four months for the appointment.

According to McCreith, had he been patient and followed the Canadian system, he would have died. Instead, McCreith went to Buffalo (New York, USA) to receive treatment the very next day. In Buffalo, he was told he had a malignant tumor, which required a biopsy. After trying the Canadian system again, he was told they would not allow the biopsy for another three months. McCreith, having a good friend die waiting for heart surgery, decided to see if the American private system could save his life. It did just that.

2. Evidently, this long waiting period is not uncommon. For instance, patients in Ontario wait an average of 22 weeks for cataract surgery and 34 weeks for a hip replacement, according to statistics from the Ontario Ministry of Health. Cities like Cleveland and Buffalo seem to be booming in those areas of medical care with Canadians coming across the boarder for treatment.

3. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/26/international/americas/26canada.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin


The country's publicly financed health insurance system ??? frequently described as the third rail of its political system and a core value of its national identity ??? is gradually breaking down. Private clinics are opening around the country by an estimated one a week, and private insurance companies are about to find a gold mine.

Dr. Day, for instance, is planning to open more private hospitals, first in Toronto and Ottawa, then in Montreal, Calgary and Edmonton. Ontario provincial officials are already threatening stiff fines. Dr. Day says he is eager to see them in court.

"We've taken the position that the law is illegal," Dr. Day, 59, says. "This is a country in which dogs can get a hip replacement in under a week and in which humans can wait two to three years."

SamiAlise should try looking into actual facts before shouting opinions from the rooftops. Or prehaps SamiAlise is happy with a system where dogs get better care than humans.

Canadians get free heath care...and how often do you hear about big issues there? rarely...cuz they take care of their people while america takes care of its money

The comments seem to be blaming the family. What those making the comments aren't considering are the conditions in Jamaica. If you leave the tourist areas it is dirty, everyone is poor, there is high violence and high crime. Think New York but worse. She was successful there, but read the article - she sometimes had to take her family and live in the church they attended. She likely came here hoping to be as successful here as there, here where there is better pay, a government that helps its citizens, and that one day might allow her to bring her family over to her when she could afford it. And look what happened, the government here simply got her killed. Mental Healthcare has long needed reform, and this is just the kind of thing people need to see to understand that. It's a shame this caring woman had to die for America to see it.

Where were her children and sisters and brothers in all of this???
Oh, now they want compensation.
Perhaps the media didn't cover how hard they did or didn't try.

Why ever did this poor woman leave 6 children and a successful life to come here and be impovrished??
That's reason enough to go insane...being away from your own children and familiar countryside.
INS would have been merciful to send her home.
Let that be a lesson...the grass is not greener on the other side!

As an RN at Metropolitan Hospital in the 70s with friends working at other city hospitals,we were always short of supplies and understaffed.The state and city always underestimated the cost of caring for a largely indigent population.Taxpayers don't want the burden of paying the health care costs.Where is her family, who say, "she was their light"? money spent on that settlement would better be spent on patient care.

I was an RN at Metropolitan Hospital in the '70s.I had friends at Kings County and Harlem Hospitals.We were always short of supplies and understaffed..The City and State always underestimated the cost to service the populations (who had no other health care option but a city ER). Taxpayers don't want to pay for health care for the poor.Where was her family,who say," she was their light." IN COURT to collect...
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Psychaitric care involves more than being admitted, treated and discharged from a hospital. It also involves follow-up care, counselling, occupational therapy, family involvement - case conferences etc.

I am not sure that I understand how staff could pass a patient who is not only on the floor but face down n the floor. It would not be convenient to observe the paient especially if face down. Being on the floor is enough reason for the health worker to stop and check the patient. Not having access to medical insurance should not prevent someone who is really in need of care to get that care.

THe odds that most of the staff on duty at the time of Ms greens death not being christian are very slim so the comments that psychiatry had any thing to do in this case is bunk. The vreal cause of Ms. greens death is plain old fashoned down home amirican right greed, we all know that only those willing and able to put money above all other things incliuding human life are the only ones to be " succesfull in this country

Psychiatric care does not constitute only admission to hospital, treatment in hospital, and discharge from hospital. It is an ongoing process with follow-up care, counselling/therapy, family involvement and church involvement. I think the pastor did more than her fair share - the hospital is responsible for what happened to this patient.

Regardless of Miss Green's psychiatric condition, she did not deserve the 'non-treatment' that she got from the emergency room staff. How could doctors/nurses/other hospital staff pass 'on-the-other-side' while Miss Green was lying on the cold floor - FACE DOWN!!! In such a situation a staff member should at least want to see if the patient is breathing! The suffering meted out to uninsured persons in the United States is unbelievable. In such a country with lots of resources, persons should not suffer from lack of medical care because they have no health insurance.
I hope the health staff will take lessons from this tragedy. My condolences to Miss Green's family/relatives.
Posted by someonewhofeelssadaboutthisincident-15/07/08

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