Ed Palmer
10-07-06, 02:03 PM
Hospital wouldn't treat dying vet - VA says its call to 911 right action
spokesmanreview.com ^ | October 7, 2006 | Jody Lawrence-Turner
A Spokane man watched in desperation as his dying friend struggled for breath, but he couldn't get immediate assistance from professionals just inside Spokane's Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
Instead those VA staffers dialed 911 to get help for the man in the hospital parking lot.
"Calling the fire department was quicker than getting equipment and bringing it back out or finding someone who could offer the medical assistance," said hospital director Joe Manley.
Paramedics arrived in four minutes, according to Spokane Fire Department dispatch logs.
Clinton L. "Foxx" Fuller, 83, of Spokane, died at Deaconess Medical Center, an hour and 10 minutes after his friend pleaded for help at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
"This man who fought three wars was dying in front of the VA Hospital, and no one inside would help," said the Rev. Eugene Singleton, who drove Fuller to the hospital. "I thought a professional person, no matter who you are, who has taken an oath to save lives, would help."
The death was "an unfortunate thing, but medically the patient was handled in the appropriate way," Manley said.
Fuller's funeral is scheduled for 10 a.m. today, said Singleton, who will deliver the eulogy.
Fuller had been a regular patient at the VA Hospital, officials and his friend said. So when Singleton got a call on Sept. 30 from Fuller's wife, Marilyn, saying her husband wanted to go the hospital, the request wasn't out of the ordinary.
Singleton, who is a reverend at St. Matthew Institutional Baptist Church, said he often took Fuller to the hospital.
"I asked if it was urgent, and his wife said 'Whenever you can get here,' " Singleton said. "After I got there, it took him a while to get out of the house. He brought a little bag with his Bible and such. He wanted to go to the hospital to be treated for his asthma and emphysema."
When the two were almost to the care facility, Fuller slumped over onto Singleton's shoulder, and the reverend couldn't wake his friend.
Singleton arrived at the VA Hospital about 4:35 p.m. He ran into the urgent care center, yelled for help and returned to his car with a wheelchair. A security guard appeared outside and told Singleton the clinic had closed five minutes earlier, but 911 had been called.
Manley said the timing had nothing to do with the fact that Fuller wasn't helped by VA staff.
"The patient arrived at our facility in respiratory distress," the hospital director said. "The most skilled people we had went out to the patient, but you have to have the professional equipment to do the work," and with the ambulance showing up quickly, the VA nurse and physician did not tend to Fuller.
The procedure Fuller needed would have required a tube being put down his throat to help him breathe, Manley explained.
"When paramedics arrived, they stretched Fuller out on the pavement and went to work on him vigorously," Singleton said. "They hooked up the life-saving equipment. When the ambulance got there, they loaded him up immediately and took him to Deaconess Medical Center.
"The doctor at Deaconess came out at exactly 5:45 p.m. and said there was nothing they could do," Singleton said. "He was dead."
Singleton felt his friend, who fought in World War II, Korea and Vietnam, was treated with disrespect when no one at the VA Hospital offered medical assistance. He was also frustrated that despite a $3.2 million expansion of the hospital in 2005, the facility closes its urgent care center at 4:30 p.m. each day.
In July, Spokane's Veterans Affairs Medical Center eliminated the center's nighttime hours.
In a June 28 Spokesman-Review article, the mid-afternoon closing time was justified by a spokeswoman who said "very, very few patients come in after the hours of 4:30 p.m." and denied the facility was ever equipped for trauma patients.
Singleton, who is also a war veteran, said after his recent experience he has instructed his wife to never take him to the VA Hospital.
"I don't want to be treated like that," Singleton said. "I get emotional every time I think about it."
spokesmanreview.com ^ | October 7, 2006 | Jody Lawrence-Turner
A Spokane man watched in desperation as his dying friend struggled for breath, but he couldn't get immediate assistance from professionals just inside Spokane's Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
Instead those VA staffers dialed 911 to get help for the man in the hospital parking lot.
"Calling the fire department was quicker than getting equipment and bringing it back out or finding someone who could offer the medical assistance," said hospital director Joe Manley.
Paramedics arrived in four minutes, according to Spokane Fire Department dispatch logs.
Clinton L. "Foxx" Fuller, 83, of Spokane, died at Deaconess Medical Center, an hour and 10 minutes after his friend pleaded for help at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
"This man who fought three wars was dying in front of the VA Hospital, and no one inside would help," said the Rev. Eugene Singleton, who drove Fuller to the hospital. "I thought a professional person, no matter who you are, who has taken an oath to save lives, would help."
The death was "an unfortunate thing, but medically the patient was handled in the appropriate way," Manley said.
Fuller's funeral is scheduled for 10 a.m. today, said Singleton, who will deliver the eulogy.
Fuller had been a regular patient at the VA Hospital, officials and his friend said. So when Singleton got a call on Sept. 30 from Fuller's wife, Marilyn, saying her husband wanted to go the hospital, the request wasn't out of the ordinary.
Singleton, who is a reverend at St. Matthew Institutional Baptist Church, said he often took Fuller to the hospital.
"I asked if it was urgent, and his wife said 'Whenever you can get here,' " Singleton said. "After I got there, it took him a while to get out of the house. He brought a little bag with his Bible and such. He wanted to go to the hospital to be treated for his asthma and emphysema."
When the two were almost to the care facility, Fuller slumped over onto Singleton's shoulder, and the reverend couldn't wake his friend.
Singleton arrived at the VA Hospital about 4:35 p.m. He ran into the urgent care center, yelled for help and returned to his car with a wheelchair. A security guard appeared outside and told Singleton the clinic had closed five minutes earlier, but 911 had been called.
Manley said the timing had nothing to do with the fact that Fuller wasn't helped by VA staff.
"The patient arrived at our facility in respiratory distress," the hospital director said. "The most skilled people we had went out to the patient, but you have to have the professional equipment to do the work," and with the ambulance showing up quickly, the VA nurse and physician did not tend to Fuller.
The procedure Fuller needed would have required a tube being put down his throat to help him breathe, Manley explained.
"When paramedics arrived, they stretched Fuller out on the pavement and went to work on him vigorously," Singleton said. "They hooked up the life-saving equipment. When the ambulance got there, they loaded him up immediately and took him to Deaconess Medical Center.
"The doctor at Deaconess came out at exactly 5:45 p.m. and said there was nothing they could do," Singleton said. "He was dead."
Singleton felt his friend, who fought in World War II, Korea and Vietnam, was treated with disrespect when no one at the VA Hospital offered medical assistance. He was also frustrated that despite a $3.2 million expansion of the hospital in 2005, the facility closes its urgent care center at 4:30 p.m. each day.
In July, Spokane's Veterans Affairs Medical Center eliminated the center's nighttime hours.
In a June 28 Spokesman-Review article, the mid-afternoon closing time was justified by a spokeswoman who said "very, very few patients come in after the hours of 4:30 p.m." and denied the facility was ever equipped for trauma patients.
Singleton, who is also a war veteran, said after his recent experience he has instructed his wife to never take him to the VA Hospital.
"I don't want to be treated like that," Singleton said. "I get emotional every time I think about it."