An angry local mother is looking into legal advice after her adult son felt concerned for his safety while getting treatment for his severely infected left leg (in pictures) at Renown on Sunday.
She also wants to create information available to the community on how to help those with substance use disorders deal with similar hospital situations.
Her son who is on Medicaid coverage is currently struggling with a fentanyl addiction and recurring edema.
After he was admitted at Renown on Saturday, he believes he was tested for drugs which showed recent use in his system.
He alleges he was then surrounded by five security officers on Sunday, while he was in bed in his hospital gown, asking to search his backpack and threatening to call police.
At that point, he says he felt extremely intimidated and worried about his welfare even though he was in a hospital receiving care.
Instead of being “treated like shit,” the mom says her son could have been given Suboxone and peer support services.
Her son then decided to leave the hospital, but says he got no support to do so, and wasn’t even given a wheelchair or access to a phone so he could call his mother to pick him up.
A woman on the bottom floor voluntarily lent her cell phone so he could call his Mom.
She then took him to the Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center on West 6th Street, where his mom says he is being treated with much more “kindness.”
Her son had initially gone to Renown, which is close to where he lives, with edema complications in November. His situation recently worsened, after the wound vac with a pump to pull out the infection they had sent him home with accidentally came off, prompting his return visit.
Before leaving Renown abruptly this weekend, he had been on an antibiotic drip, and had been told surgery might be needed.
We contacted Renown, briefly describing the allegations, and asked if the hospital “would have a statement concerning this type of situation.”
Caroline Ackerman responded “In order to protect every individual's personal health information, we are not able to confirm or discuss any patient’s treatment without written authorization,” while also including a link to a rights of patient privacy page.