Photo Courtesy of WSBTV
An unidentified, sick 68-year-old man from Conyers, Georgia, collapsed after being discharged from Piedmont Rockdale Hospital after medicare did not cover his medical treatments.
A 911 caller found the man who reportedly seemed unresponsive and in need of medical help.
“Poor guy. But he probably needs an ambulance and not…” the 911 caller said, according to WSB-TV. “It’s right in front of the Piedmont Rockdale Emergency entrance.”
Conyers Police Deputy Chief Scott Freeman reported that after receiving word from a hospital employee, the man was under the hospital’s care for 35 days and was deemed “fit to leave” by two doctors after they were alerted that medicare would not continue paying for his care.
According to Rockdale Newton Citizen, when medical responders showed up, he had “sepsis, a high heart rate, fever, a urinary tract infection, and a possible bladder infection.”
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“Common sense dictates that you do not treat human beings the way that we’re seeing in this particular case,” said Freeman.
“This man is laying out on the sidewalk unresponsive, and this is how they brought him out,” he stated. “They escorted him off the property and just left him on the sidewalk. This is inhumane; this is not who we are as a city, as a county, or even as a country. Or at least it shouldn’t be.”
Piedmont Healthcare spoke up about the incident, implying that the man did not want to continue his treatment when he was discharged. Meanwhile, saying they’d “do their best to connect patients in need” with “appropriate after-hospital care,” whether or not the services are accepted is “at the discretion of the patient.”
“At Piedmont, our purpose is to make a positive difference in every life we touch. We can only provide the best care with the cooperation and consent of the patient. We do our best to connect patients in need with community partners and social service organizations to provide appropriate after-hospital care, but ultimately accepting these services is at the discretion of the patient,” the statement continued.