She was only 25. I wonder if they didn't take her symptoms seriously because of her age, think that it couldn't be life threatening because she was so young. Or female. Or black.

RIP Ms. Ward

at the hospital before she left. They did a chest x ray and an electrocardiograph. Then she left to go to an urgent care facility. I understand that she was convinced that she was being ignored, but could it be that once those tests were done, they needed a specialist to review them.

The article says that she had an enlarged heart, but it does not say what caused her death. Because she died, the article does not second guess her decision to leave the hospital to go to urgent care. Not to mention, they would not have access to the tests done and there would be a wait there too.

Some things not known - did she tell them she was leaving? If so, did they tell her it was better to stay?? Did she ask or did they tell her when she was likely to be seen? It is possible that even if she were still sitting there at the time that she collapsed outside the urgent care, she might not have collapsed. Not to mention, had she started to collapse in the hospital, she would immediately have been helped - possibly saving her life.

Anyone who has needed to go to the emergency room for themselves or with a loved one, knows how stressful it is to have to wait hours. It may be that when her tests were done and seemed to not be very alarming, she was not considered as ill as she was. However, had she stayed, she might be alive now.

She received an EKG and chest x-ray. She left. This is bullshit baiting.

When my son had appendicitis it took a few tests AND a few hours before a definite diagnosis was made.

for her life and did not feel like she was being properly cared for. Most ER's are notorious for keeping patients waiting and in the dark. You have no idea as to when you will be seen again or what is going on with your case. I know this. I have been in emergency rooms a few times myself and have felt like they have forgotten all about me while I was lying on a cold metal table in agony. Nobody was giving me any information.

One time it was appendicitis and another time is was a severe allergic reaction. It was hellish. If they would only extend the slight courtesy of keeping the patient informed and comforted it would have made all the difference. It doesn't take a lot of time, but it makes all the difference to the patient who is lying their terrified and worried that they are being overlooked.

Period.

And a little understanding as to why she might have made that decision. Most city emergency rooms are nightmares. Especially for people who aren't privileged.

That should make her family feel much better.

She died. The only story here is impatient person foolishly leaves until doctors are done.

claims that she was NOT 'processed' (no bracelet) and only had an xray. Something is not right. THe stories are not jiving.

Sad in any case.

There's now way she had received treatment if she'd never gotten wrist band:

"She didn't even have a band on her wrist (when I picked her up) so she was never even processed in," her sister, Brianna Ward, told the affiliate. "All they did was take her to the back, do chest X-rays, send her back in the lobby. She was never even admitted."

I bet she left before it was even read.

Show up with severe chest pains.
Immediately get a EKG or whatever.
Sit and wait for 2 hours as chest pains increase
Leave because you want to live and maybe someone else will do something
Die.

I think you'd have to know exactly how long it was after the scans that she finally decided to leave. I'd guess, if they ever release any information, that you'd go back and tell the triage nurse, "She's getting worse."

But it's hard to say. I've been in these situations, in emergency, with a patient who was going through a miscarriage. The triage nurse had it in her head that the patient was faking it to get a free ultrasound, so we sat in chairs for two or three hours, behind earaches and sore tummies, before we got admitted.

and therefore not being treated according to others here. And no wristband.

She left. She was admitted. I don't call very ill people fools, I call very ill people who walk out of their treatment center during treatment fools.

(My daughter's health care costs $200,000 every year - we've been in multiple ERs in multiple states (and countries, for that matter), as well as similarly admitted).

I have never been in an ER in which they run tests (EKG and chest X-ray) without affixing a wristband. Heck, they affix a wrist-band when I went for outpatient radiation therapy; when my daughter has her annual MRI, when I have my annual mammogram; etc.

That part of the story does not match with any hospital experience I have ever had. I do agree that she was probably not admitted. Admission typically occurs AFTER they have done and completed tests and, occasionally, they place you in observation area for up to 23 hours to avoid waiving the ER fees (most insurance companies only pay separate ER fees if you are not admitted - so this observation status was created as a pseudo-admissions they can charge more for). BUT wristbands are an entirely separate matter from admissions.

wristbands and that 'she must have taken it off' ??

I've been in plenty of hospitals, doctors' offices and ERs with family, friends and for myself. I come from a medical family with MDs in general med, cardiology and other specialties, some technicians too.

Every place I've been would refuse to do testing before applying a wristband.

we took my husband to the ER for chest pains - he was 30. We drove, did not take an ambulance. Waited 3 hours for care.

Last year I broke my ankle and arrived at the ER in an ambulance. Immediate care.

eom

Its amazing that they would send a patient back to the waiting room.

left the E.R. and got to the Urgent Care facility. What happened in the meantime?

"Around 7:27 p.m., upset by the long wait, Ward left the ER and headed to an urgent care ..."

She goes to the E.R. arriving around 5:00 (4:58)
Waits 2 hours there and then leaves at 7:27
Drives to Urgent Care where she collapses upon arriving and is pronounced dead shortly thereafter at 9:25 P.M.

My question: What was she doing for the roughly two hours between 7:27 when she leaves the E.R. and 9:25 P.M. when she is pronounced dead outside the Urgent Care?

Did you read the linked article?

She collapsed outside the urgent care,
and was sent back to the hospital by ambulance,
where she died.

And her choice to leave.

It is a tragedy but they have no liability.

They had a moral responsibility to care for her and to tend to her well being.

They left her without any information and in fear for her life. I don't give a shit about legal liability. They were morally negligent. I know how things work in these city emergency rooms and her death would not have happened if someone had just checked in on her and let her know what was going on and given her some information.

What can we expect from someone named "alphafemale".

I'll probably get trashed for this, but I don't care. I'll take it. This kind of coldness and insensitivity is exactly what I would expect from a republican. I can't believe I am seeing it here.

As a 55 year old man-

I had chest pains that did not quickly subside (I had had pains before, but they always were gone in a few minutes). After 15 minutes in pain, I called 9-11. EMS arrived quickly, gave me nitro, which relieved the pains, and I went to the hospital. Had a quick ECG, a blood draw, and told to wait. After about 6 hours I left. I felt no one was taking care of me.

Six months later it happened again. But this time a different hospital explained much better what THEY were doing while I was waiting. They were keeping an eye on me, and were waiting for time for a second blood test to compare to the first blood test to check for enzyme evidence of damage. I didn’t understand that the first time, hence why I walked out.

Nurses who explain things make all the difference in the world. Just saying, I don’t blame hospitals, or staff, I’m just thankful I survived to learn.

I am glad you are doing ok now. It is so simple to just go in and explain to a patient what is going on with their case and what they can expect and when. To leave someone on a cold table and ignore them is just cruel and heartless. Their job is to keep an eye on you and monitor your well being. That is their JOB! They are there to keep people from walking out.

It is so important to let patients know that they are being taken care of and that they matter. I'm sorry to be so adamant about this, but it just infuriates me that I have seen staff hanging around chit-chatting instead of caring for patients. I have had to go out and beg for an extra blanket and pain relief while they are sitting around yukking it up, so I don't want to hear from anyone that they are too busy to attend to the patients under their care.

you experienced the second time to the hospital. Staff and nurses do need to explain and have some human decency. I left an ER once for inattentive staff, long cold wait and no explanation whatsoever. Fortunately I found good care and made it though alright. Glad you're doing well.

Medical and health care really has become about business and money in many areas.

About 14 years ago I was carrying in groceries from the garage one Saturday evening. The next thing I remember was "I don't remember going to bed" and then realized I was lying on the garage floor unable to move. Ambulance to hospital ER, directly from ambulance to exam room. A number of tests and scans later directly to a hospital room. Next morning (Sunday) angiogram. Next morning (Monday) eight hours of surgery for triple bypass and a MAZE procedure to correct my a-fib.

That is how a hospital is supposed to treat a 'chest pains and shortness of breath'.

And...I knew, somehow I just knew, before I clicked on that link that she was Black.

hospitalization. It sounds like her tests were not as obvious and that they still had not diagnosed what was causing the chest pains.

I get that she was likely very scared and very alone and did not trust the hospital at that point to help her. She likely must have contacted her sister and asked her to come and to help her go to the urgent care. One question is whether the hospital even knew she intended to leave before she did. I wonder though if her sister would simply have stayed with her or better yet acted as her advocate asking for what the hospital was trying to do. It could have lowered her stress and helped her rethink her idea that leaving a hospital ER room to go to an urgent care facility probably without the test results already done.

upper abdomen. The ER desk person says "sir, take a seat, we will call you".
I said "lady I am having unbearable pain, I can not wait, this is emergency".
So they did usher me into a ER room. Then they give me a shot of a strong pain killer,
whose name I will never forget, it was Demerol. I was hooked up to monitors and the nurse left.
My wife is watching the monitor and see's my pulse drop from 80 down to 70 down to 60 down to 50.
When my pulse reached low 40's she ran outside and flagged a nurse. So they gave me a shot of
something (perhaps adrenaline) and that revived my pulse back up.

But I always wonder if wife had not kept an eye on the monitor, what would have happened.

off if no one is monitoring it......

It is a good thing your wife was there

Two hours is not that long in an ER, but this woman had just given birth, had an enlarged heart. She should have been triaged in. That poor women.

There is an “impending doom” feeling certain people get— it’s can be a precursor or an indication something is wrong. They’ve done certain studies on it, it’s not magical, the mind is picking up on clues the body is sending. I’m thinking she knew she needed care ASAP.