Man Dies Feet From ER After Hospital Says To Call 911

Heart attack victim crashed car in parking lot, had to wait for ambulance to arrive to get help...

PORTLAND, Ore. — The death of a Cuban immigrant just feet from an emergency room has left his family in grief, upset police and drawn a request for an investigation from a congressman, all asking why an officer was told to call the emergency services number for a heart attack victim just outside the hospital door.

Birgilio Marin-Fuentes had driven to Portland Adventist Medical Center shortly after midnight Thursday, unable to sleep or stop coughing, then crashed his car into a pillar and wall inside the first level of the hospital parking garage under an "emergency parking only" sign about 125 feet from the emergency room entrance.

By the time somebody noticed the 61-year-old Cuban immigrant in his car and told a police officer in the emergency room, about 20 minutes had gone by.

Keep in mind this man is now 125 feet from potential life saving care.

Officers Angela Luty and Robert Quick found Marin-Fuentes unconscious and unresponsive and began cardiopulmonary resuscitation. A third officer, Andrew Hearst, went to the ER intake desk and told them what was happening.

He was told to call emergency services.

"The officers recognized this man needed medical attention immediately, and two officers began CPR immediately, and a third officer went to ask for assistance, and they were told they had to wait until an ambulance arrived," said Sgt. Pete Simpson, a Portland Police Bureau spokesman.

125 feet..... call 911

udy Leach, a hospital spokeswoman, said emergency room staff was told it was a car crash and they were following the proper protocol by instructing police to summon an ambulance crew.

"With an automobile accident you don't know if the patient needs to be extricated or transported," Leach said Friday. "There are protocols in place to ensure the right thing is done for the right patient at the right time."

She said hospital security officers equipped with a mobile defibrillator were dispatched, and a paramedic went outside to check on the situation.

But Simpson said officers did not receive any medical assistance and were left to fend for themselves until the ambulance arrived and the crew wheeled Marin-Fuentes the short distance to the emergency room aboard a gurney.

I just can't get 125 feet out of my head. What is wrong with people? Protocol my arse. If this had been another hospital workers friend/family member there would have been no protocol. The man not surprisingly passed away...

125 feet from the hospital.

www.msnbc.msn.com...

Sounds like a load of crap to me. The hospital is wrong. Will be sued and will change their policy.
Because what kind of dumbasses don't send out a doctor to at least check on the poor guy to see if he's in good shape or not. car crash or not until the paramedics do arrive or the doctor determines that this guys life is in immediate danger and take him to the er.

too bad it cost someone their life in order for a change to occur.

Key word: "protocol".

People in professional positions in companies subject to being sued are not allowed to use their brain for independent thinking anymore. They blindly follow protocol even when that protocol is absurd in the extreme in the circumstance.

You see this a lot in hospitals and schools. .... just makes you want to scream

reply to post by grey580


I think you are correct. They will be sued, as they should. I would think that the Good Samaritan Law would apply here for any doctors or nurses who would have given aid despite hospital "protocol".

en.wikipedia.org...

United States

The details of good Samaritan laws/acts in various jurisdictions vary, including who is protected from liability and in what circumstances.[4] Not all jurisdictions provide protection to laypersons, in those cases only protecting trained personnel, such as doctors or nurses.[5]

I just fail to understand how people can treat others like this.

they just wanted to charge an extra $10,000 for an ambulance trip in addition to whatever else he may have needed...

This incident so very aptly illustrates what is wrong wioth a society which is based upon money.
The highly educated are dumber than a post when it comes to following protocols.
They rarely think about the consequences of doing so.
Common sense and courtesy, and compassion are non starters in the world these idiots live in.
Our education system produces scads of these highly edicated automatons.Their humanity is about on par with a robot.
Its no wonder there is no hope left in this world.
The same goes for the politicians and the rest.
We need a different focus in educating people, or we create the reason for the failure of society.

I just heard about this. What the bleep were these people thinking? Sounds like they got their training from the fine people at the University of Michigan Medical Center. Idiots.