A concerned staffer at LICH shared with us this story from the past few days, giving a sense of both how urgently we need to keep the hospital alive as well as the power we as the community has in assuring a positive outcome.
The other day, a LICH neighbor came in to the ER & was deemed to require hospital admission. Of course he was told he would be transferred someplace else. This guy was smart. He refused transfer, saying that his doctor & records are here & LICH is his hospital, it's open, staffed, and theres no "closed" sign on the door. He insisted on being admitted to LICH or he would take legal action. Guess what? He was the first patient to be admitted to LICH since June 19th.
Many of our dialysis patients are refusing to go elswhere for their treatments...and they aren't. Maternity patients are calling to say they are coming & will refuse to be transferred. Yesterday, one of them was admitted to LICH and had her baby safely delivered.
Moral of the story, the community has the power.
Since you posted this, LICH has had 2 more patients come in & refuse to be transferred. Their doctors went to bat with them & had it out ROYALLY with Downstate's chief medical officer Mike Lucchese. They got admitted. But sick people needing to be in the hospital should not have to be fighting with the administration to get in one of the many empty but fully staffed beds. This is not a FOR-PROFIT hospital. Public hospitals have no right to be refusing admission to anyone. What Downstate is trying to do to people is ILLEGAL. The patients are beginning to exercise their rights! That's how you OCCUPY LICH!
ReplyDeleteRequesting in writing why you are not being admitted to LICH, and mentioning that you will be sending it to your lawyer for review to sue for violating your rights to be treated by your own physician may just get you admitted as well. What is being done at LICH IS a crime.
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