ELDERLY CANCER PATIENT CALLS 911 BECAUSE HE HAS NO FOOD

[Liberal_in_LA]

Source: abc1@

When 81-year-old Clarence Blackmon returned home Tuesday after spending months in the hospital for cancer treatments and rehab, his refrigerator was empty.

He had nothing to eat and no way to get to the store. Hungry and desperate, he called 911. He asked the operator if someone could go to the store for him and buy some groceries.

He told the operator whatever she could do would help.

"I can't do anything. I can't go anywhere. I can't get out of my damn chair," Blackmon said in his 911 call.

___
Blackmon told Hinson that all he wanted was a head of cabbage, some cans of beans and beets, some popcorn, tomato juice, and soft drinks.

Read more: http://abc11.com/society/elderly-cancer-patient-calls-911-because-he-has-no-food-/718448/

[marym625]

1. Just so sad

And so wrong. No one should have to go through this

[Liberal_in_LA]

7. delivery of the food

From dailymail

[roguevalley]

12. look at that frail little man. He used to be a child who

would never in his darkest days know his country would be such a colossal fucker. I am so happy he did this. Bless him and his helpers. I still can't get past his predicament. That man looks like my dad before he died.

[840high]

15. It made me mad and then I cried.

[sheshe2]

41. I could not even get mad, I just cried, 840high. nt

[840high]

48. ...

[marym625]

20. Thank you for the pictures

So glad they did this. How is it we don't have services that would have made sure he had everything he needed before he got home?

[Hoppy]

69. Most, if not all hospitals do have such social serivce workers.

They ask if the person has help at home and so forth.

Cousin was 78 and in hospital for 6 weeks. All she wanted to do was to get out of the hospital and go home and be independent.

Simply, she lied to the social worker about her home resources. We were in the room with the social worker when she lied. Later, we corrected the social worker.

So she arranged for a visiting nurse to come every day and she was discharged from hospital. The next morning, she fired the visiting nurse.

Two days later, the neighbor who had a key, found her on the floor and she was readmitted to hospital.

The problem with the elder man may not have been the fault of the hospital or the system...

[marym625]

70. Would like to know

I suspect that it wasn't him. I know that some of the social workers in hospitals really don't care. I know this from personal experience

[roguevalley]

11. welcome to third way dem and demented repug America

[marym625]

23. I don't like it here

Let's get rid of this America and build a good, caring one

[onehandle]

2. America, Fuck Yeah! nt

[libdem4life]

3. He was in a hospital for months...he was 81...he had to have a social worker of some kind. Not

saying it didn't happen, but he must not have all his faculties. Someone took him home. Likely he has neighbors. Still sounds a bit fishy to me.

[roguevalley]

14. actually, my niece is a nurse. This is normal.

[libdem4life]

24. Every hospital I have been in or near has to have an exit plan. Someone took him home.

Dumping people without food or a plan is not normal, I'm sorry. And in my case, it was the nurse and the hospital social worker who worked it out. And surely he had Food Stamps. If they did, he has a case against them.

My ex-brother in law owned a hospital and if there is no family, social services takes over.

[Hekate]

45. Every so often the LA Times prints another granny-dumping story from Skid Row, no less

Old people sent off in a taxi from the hospital, some in their hospital gowns, when it's time to discharge them. Why Skid Row, you ask? Because that's where "services" for the indigent are to be had, if you know where they are and if you can totter there from the sidewalk.

Presbyterian Hospital's name keeps popping up. They were sold to a for-profit outfit that kept the name, so it has nothing to do with the Presbyterian Church. If I was on the Board of that denomination, I'd sue to get the name changed.

"Outrageous" hardly begins to cover it.

[libdem4life]

49. Even on Skid Row, people come down and try to help. You can't help someone who doesn't want

help until they agree to it. Often the adult children/family end up just walking away. We fought for my Mom (it took all four of us) and against her wishes, we won. Same with the other situation...against her will. Same for driving...hide the car keys...not a pleasant family time.

And yes, I know there are all kinds of sociological issues here, but apparently he has a house and it looked like a decent neighborhood, and now he'll get help permanently. The bottom line, there are services available. I had an elderly friend in the hospital. The first day the hospital Social Worker came in and left her card. Now someone comes in once or twice a week.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

56. In my experience dealing with older relatives, the discharge plan kicks in

only if the patient is supposed to go to a nursing home afterwards. The social worker phones around and finds a place with an opening.

Otherwise, the patient is just sent home.

[libdem4life]

58. Sent home...means they have a home and someone like a relative takes them?

I'm having a hard time conceiving of the concept that American hospitals throw people out in the street. This guy had a very nice home, based on the photos. He wasn't impoverished. Probably needs a Court Conservator, if no family is available.

This thread is fascinating. Seems perhaps an age difference in experiences and opinions?

[valerief]

57. You must be thinking of some civilized country, not America. I guess you haven't

seen all the stories of curbside drop-offs of hospital patients left to fend for themselves.

[Aerows]

64. Definitely not

thinking of America. Canada. The UK. Scandinavian countries. Israel. Germany, France, and countries where people actually get health care and think nothing of it.

[pnwmom]

34. No, it's not normal. Hospitals are supposed to have social workers who plan for after-care.

That's normal.

And Fayetteville is in a County with the typical roster of services for the elderly. Someone should have arranged for Meals on Wheels, for example.

http://www.ccccooa.org/mealsonwheels/

[procon]

59. In what state is that normal?

It not normal. I worked as an RN in California for 30+ years and no patient is ever discharged out if they can't care for themselves or don't have a reliable support system to assist them. It even happened to me as a post op patient because I could not get in and out of bed without help so I had to go stay at my brother's until I was strong enough to be on my own again.

Even in an impoverished state like Arkansas, that poor old man should have never been sent home without having already met with someone to establish his needs and the home care assistance would have available the same day as his release to see that he had what he needed. If it was unavailable then he would have spent a few days in another non-acute care facility until everything was in place. If he was so frail that couldn't even get out of his chair then he was not suitable for a home discharge and should have been transferred to a facility the provided the appropriate level of care he needed.

There are very severe federal penalties for hospitals that get caught dumping patients out of acute care facilities to free up the bed space. He never should have been in a situation that left him starving, and I hope someone care enough to investigate what happened and make sure it never happens to anyone else.

[Jesus Malverde]

63. See post 49

Nevada also has a history of dumping patients in California, and as mentioned above Cali hospitals to skid row.

[1monster]

16. My parents are in their mid eighties.They do have home nurses and physical therapists visit but my

siblings jump through hoops on a regular basis to see that they do. One or more of them also visit them on a daily basis. I can't help much since I live about 1,000 miles away.

Social workers don't grow on trees and are not necessarily appointed to help those in need. Yes, the hospital should have made sure there was some kind of help for him before discharging him, but that doesn't necessarily mean they did.

[libdem4life]

26. Every hospital has a hospital social worker. We are talking about a dismissal, not home health

care.

[pnwmom]

35. Social workers don't grow on trees, but they work in hospitals,

among other places. Hospitals are supposed to use them for discharge planning.

They should have put him in touch with the services his county offers for the elderly, including Meals on wheels.

http://www.ccccooa.org/mealsonwheels/

[840high]

21. Believe me - it happens.

[libdem4life]

27. Please tell me how it happens.

[niyad]

30. watch michael moore's "sicko"

[libdem4life]

38. As I said, if the hospital did not authorize an exit plan, I'd have my attorney over there post

haste, or he should not have been released. And I'm happy he got people to help and it's a disgrace he needed to call 911. Perhaps one of them will connect him with living services. Medicare/Medicaid covers that.

I don't need a referral to Michael Moore. We have a nurse and a doctor in the family.

[840high]

33. here - one example

Dumped On Skid Row - CBS News
www.cbsnews.com/news/dumped-on-skid-row/
CBS News
May 17, 2007 - The first rule in medicine is: do no harm. ... literally dump them on the streets of Skid Row, even if the patients ... The tape shows a 63-year-old homeless woman named Carol Ann ... Asked if he was surprised to see Reyes get out of the taxi, Rev. ... health-care requirements" before discharging any patient.

[pnwmom]

36. This man was over 65, which makes him eligible for a host of services unavailable,

unfortunately, to a homeless younger person.

Like Meals on Wheels, which is available in his county.

http://www.ccccooa.org/mealsonwheels/

[libdem4life]

39. Sorry, I can't make out what you wrote.

[840high]

47. My apology - quick copy and paste.

[Warpy]

60. Sometimes it takes a while for services to start

Chances are he was put in for Meals on Wheels, but they have a waiting list so...

Elder services in this country SUCK, especially for people who have outlived their friends and families but aren't sick enough to go to a nursing home.

[onecaliberal]

4. That's what he gets for getting cancer and being too

Lazy to work plus he should have thought about that before he got out of the hospital.

[KarenS]

5. Heartbreaking.

I am truly afraid of being old & sick.

[Omaha Steve]

6. I worked the Omaha Police Dept front desk the last couple years of my career

In Omaha 911 would have transferred the call to the OPD front desk. We would have called the precinct Sgt. and got it taken care of.

OS

[Liberal_in_LA]

13. glad to hear that people care

[steve2470]

43. you rock, Steve nt

[SCVDem]

8. Tell me again

how America is the greatest country on the planet.

Great for the rich.

[leftofcool]

9. There is a number at the link to call the PD if you can help.

Anyone in that area who posts on DU help if you can.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

10. Try 211....

Big cities have that for social services.

[irisblue]

17. what the hell....that human has NO FOOD>>>>WTF?

[totodeinhere]

18. I hope that someone can help him apply for meals on wheels.

He seems like a prefect candidate for it.

[Archae]

40. I was thinking that also

I get Meals On Wheels, costs me $20 a week.

Good food too!

[whereisjustice]

19. if we help him, then what incentive will cancer patients have to cure themselves?

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

46. Ouch. So fu@king true.

Or his neighbors should help him because isn't Amerca the bestest.


God, I hate that shit.

[LibDemAlways]

22. Before a patient is discharged

from the local hospital here in my corner of So. Cal. a social worker arrives with a bunch of questions regarding the person's home situation. An elderly, infirm person would not be sent home to an empty house to fend for him or herself. Some sort of arrangement with a friend, relative, neighbor, or social services organization would have to be made to assure that his basic needs would be met. After my mother had surgery last year, I had to provide assurances that she would be well cared for by family before they would let her go.

It's unconscienable that that man had nowhere else to turn except a 911 operator. We can and should do better.

[SummerSnow]

25. and there are idiots that would call him a 'taker'...fuck them all

[libdem4life]

28. The hospital needs to be sued...he'd win. They have legal liability for releasing him without an

Exit Plan. Hell, that's why they make you ride out in a wheel chair even if you can walk. And they must stay with you until the transportation comes.

[niyad]

32. watch "sicko" and then tell us about him winning a suit.

[pnwmom]

29. I've never heard of a hospital that doesn't plan for after-care and would release any patient,

much less an elderly patient, like this.

If true, this is terrible. The hospital should have arranged for services from Meals on Wheels and other county services for the elderly.

http://www.ccccooa.org/mealsonwheels/

[niyad]

31. bless that dispatcher and those who helped. and damnation to whoever just dumped him at home

without making sure he had everything he needed.

[Boomer]

37. Someday....

Someday that's going to be me. It's a sobering thought.

[libdem4life]

42. I also will add that if he lacking emotional or intellectual skills, the social worker

will or should set him up for a Court-Monitored Conservator. I don't know this history, but I'm pretty sure that this is likely the next best step. We had to do this for my mother and I helped some else do it for his mother. With this publicity he'll be cared for.

On Edit...it's not The Bad System necessarily, it's often not knowing or understanding the System that is in place. And, often the elder does not want anything to change, no matter how horrific. They fear losing their independence...and they do. It's split many a family apart, as I also worked as Client Relations in a Home Care setting.

[msongs]

44. we live in a christian nation. our resources go to the military industrial complex. tough luck nt

[Chef Eric]

53. No, we do NOT live in a Christian nation.

The fact that most Americans identify themselves as Christian does NOT make us a Christian nation. The fact is that we've NEVER been a Christian nation. And many of us non-Christians really don't appreciate people claiming otherwise.

It's bad enough that we frequently hear this sort of nonsense from the idiots on the religious right. We certainly don't need to hear it repeated by Democrats on DU.

Rant over.

[awoke_in_2003]

50. I dream of, one day,

retiring to my native Ohio. The problem is, all my family is here. I fear I would end up in the same situation one day. People just don't get to know their neighbors anymore.

[jtuck004]

51. This is what happens when you let tens of millions of people fall into poverty or near poverty

while enriching the bank$ter/donor friends of the party and pretend it's a recovery.

Like provisioning for insurance for ten million and leaving them hungry. What an accomplishment.

[YOHABLO]

52. This is what is wrong, very wrong with our healthcare system. And those Repugs want to cut Medicaid

Medicare, and do away with Social Security. It makes me so mad I want to scream

[appalachiablue]

54. K & R. Can't write anything now about this ugly, cruel country. Poor, dear man.

Many people are unaware of this and how systemic it is, b/c of no time, following mostly M$M.

[SaveOurDemocracy]

55. *** Follow-up article with more info as to how this happened...

http://abc11.com/society/donations-food-pour-in-for-starving-veteran/721324/

...
Many of you asked how Blackmon could wind up in this situation. ABC11 asked DSS officials that same question. The director said they only became aware of Blackmon's plight when we told them. The private rehab center that discharged Blackmon failed to notify DSS officials that he was going home.

A DSS social worker spent several hours with Blackmon Wednesday. They are now taking care of his needs. ...

[Liberal_in_LA]

72. thx for more details

[jwirr]

61. Wonder if they have meals on wheels? That program delivers hot meals to shut-ins and keeps an

eye on them.

[herding cats]

62. A for profit privatized health care system failure.

When people ask why I'm apposed to privatized health care, this is the reason. It's about the money, not the people who need the care. In this case an 81 year old man undergoing cancer treatment was sent home by a private rehab facility without any concern for his nonexistent support network. They were finished being paid for his care, and so he was released. This happened to my elderly neighbor three doors down a handful of years back. She was treated at the hospital for a broken ankle, sent to a rehab (private) and later released. They got her a ride home with the local medical transport van, and that was that. They were done with her. Luckily she the next day when she realized she couldn't drive to go get food, in her panic she thought of me giving her my number the year before. We didn't even know each other beyond having talked on a handful of different occasions, but I helped her get things going and get food and services lined up. She had no living family left and was all alone in the world. She didn't know who to call or what to do if she needed help. Actually, I didn't know who to call at first either, but we figured it out together.

These things do happen, I know it to be a fact. The shouldn't, but they do.

[Aerows]

65. Blatant Example of a Dysfunctional Nation

Many in our country call Social Security and Medicare "entitlements". They really should just come right out and say they want people who use such programs to be beggars. Beg for charity, no dignity because you outlived your usefulness, and no respect no matter how much you put into the system.

This is a blatant example of how our nation has become dysfunctional.

[dembotoz]

66. I can see this happening

Getting out of a Hosp does not mean mobile
I have seen a couple wonderful Hosp social workers and some less than wonderful
And this was with a very involved family member (me)

[Vinca]

67. News rarely makes me cry. This was the exception.

I'm sure that police dispatcher will take things in hand. She seems like a wonderful person to personally go to the man's home and make him a sandwich.

[Sunlei]

68. If he didn't have a phone......

[harun]

71. If you can't add to corporate profits anymore, no more pudding.