Seniors Speak Out on Patient DumpingPaul Hogarthbyline‚ Aug. 27‚ 2007If you saw the movie “Sicko,” you know what patient dumping is all about. When a hospital discharges a homeless patient, they will drop them off at a local shelter – or on Skid Row in Los Angeles – without any guarantee that the patient will get the necessary help to make it through the night. Many patients, though deemed fit to leave the hospital, suffer from dementia – so the streets are the last place they should be. A new state law that passed last year mandates that hospitals hold a regional meeting with “key stakeholders” to discuss how to prevent patient dumping – but in San Francisco, a group of senior advocates for the homeless complain that stakeholders were not invited. At an August 23rd press conference at City Hall with Supervisor Tom Ammiano, advocates said the Northern California Hospital Council needs to do more to stop patient dumping – and comply with the letter and spirit of the law. |