The family of a woman featured in a viral video shot in Baltimore spoke out in a press conference held on Thursday.
The family and lawyer of the victim shared their disappointment with the improper care of mentally ill patients and UMMC Midtown's decision to 'patient dump' the victim. The mother concluded that she didn't want her daughter to be the face of mental illness and didn't want her to be the impact of a failed mental health care system.
Attorney J. Wyndal Gordon says his client Rebecca was having a psychotic episode when the University of Maryland Medical Center in Midtown dumped her.
"She sought help from those who are required by law to help her and she was maltreated. The University of Maryland Medical Center Midtown Campus left my client to die," said the victim's attorney, J. Wyndal Gordon.
The video shows a woman, in only a hospital gown, being left on the street.
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While the family says Rebecca is doing better than she was a week ago, they still want to hold people accountable for what happened.
According to a Facebook post from Gordon, they wanted to address the issue of 'patient dumping'. He says patient dumping is not just wrongful; he believes it's criminal.
In the post, Gordon also calls the cameraman, Imamu Baraka, an angel and thanks him for saving his client's life.
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A statement was released by UMMC officials explaining that their internal investigation showed a breakdown in the coordination of continued care of the patient after the point of medical discharge.
“To reiterate, we take full responsibility for the failure that occurred in demonstrating compassion to this young woman in the post-discharge process after delivering medical care,” said Mohan Suntha, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer of the University of Maryland Medical Center. “Last week, we pledged to fully investigate the incident and take appropriate action. Over the last week, a cross-departmental team across both UMMC campuses has completed a thorough and unsparing internal review of the circumstances that led to this incident, and is committed to being transparent to the greatest extent possible, given what is allowable by law regarding patient information and personnel matters.”
You can donate to Rebecca's GoFundMe page by clicking here.
