Comments on: Dumped On Skid Row

Anderson Cooper Reports On The Practice Known As "Hospital Dumping"

[papaofnate]

LETS BE HONEST. I SAW THE SHOW ABOUT "DUMPIMG" AND THE NETWORK HAS IT WRONG. I'M SURE CA PEOPLE ARE NOT SO BAD....

[papaofnate]

I'm sorry I am not Californian in ur shoes. I am a Sioux Indian n half Irish man just trying to understand u. I'm sorry you have it so bad there. I am just by myself here, pointing out things. Am without family here and I want to help u, but I'm not a person u want to discourage...

[greenvanholz]

Remember Californian Buck Helm? In the aftermath of the 1989 Bay Area Earthquake, this hardy longshoreman was amazingly plucked alive after four days in the rubble by dedicated searchers. Later, this story was featured in a movie Miracle on Interstate 880: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107578/

Unfortunately, Buck Helm only survived another month. As I remember it, he was under the care of Kaiser Permanente at the time. Here was a soul, resilient enough to survive 90 hours in the rubble, yet after he went under Kaiser%u2019s care, his health deteriorated. It could be that the time spent in the rubble damaged Mr. Helm organs or something like that. However, my gut instincts at the time told me different, after several personal experiences of my own with Kaiser, where they always seemed short-staffed.

These were the first hard experiences I had, seeing a large corporate entity drop its service quality level via counting beans and stopping bucks.

[papaofnate]

WHAT?
we are talking about homeless people.
they are outside right now. when u r asleep, they are outside worried about absolutely everything. enjoy ur meal, enjoy ur sleep...

[randalds]

Good point. What are we going to do with 30 million homeless,jobless illegal immigrants if we have an economic downturn?
Posted by lestb35 at 08:51 PM : May 20, 2007

There are NOT 30 million illegal aliens in the US! There are about 44 million Americans of Hispanic descent and an estimated 10-12 million illegals on top of that. And I have never heard of a homeless illegal alien in Los Angeles. Never seen it either. This is about AMERICAN homeless mentally ill people and it has NOTHING to do with illegal immigration. Don't muddy the water with this cr*ap. This is a mental health crisis, not an immigration one, so get off your soap box.

[randalds]

They have a 30 jump on the over crowding that will take place if the illegal immigrant crisis is not resolved by sending them back and securing our borders!

Posted by ambimas at 08:38 PM : May 20, 2007

LOL! What an idiot! This has to be one of the most lame attempts to turn one problem into a screed on another that I've ever read! The vast vast vast majority of the homeless people in Los Angeles are American by birth you idiot! Most of them are White and Black!! Most of them are war veterans and most are mentally ill. I seriously doubt that there is even a single one that's in this country illegally. At least my wife who is a psychiatric RN has never seen one on her calls. Don't drag your fear of Hispanics into this issue because it does not belong! Better yet get off your butt and go into downtown L.A. and work on the problem yourself so you'll be able to see what an ignorant statement you just posted.

[lestb35]

Posted by ambimas at 08:38 PM : May 20, 2007


Good point. What are we going to do with 30 million homeless,jobless illegal immigrants if we have an economic downturn?

[papaofnate]

Dear %u201C60 Minutes%u201D CBS News:

%u201CDumped on Skid Row.%u201C aired May 20, 2007.
The hospital dumping of homeless is because homeless shelters refuse certain people when they are put on a list, because of being %u201Cdifficult%u201D at that shelter. The homeless person had a past %u201Cbehavior%u201D. Shelters refuse homeless. Hospitals are not hotels. Blaming the hospitals? (I noticed you didn%u2019t %u201CCBS investigate%u201D the shelters). People blame %u201Cthe government%u201D for not helping these homeless. How about blaming society? Better yet, when the ambulance driver has no where to take the poor Joe, how about bringing these unwanted homeless to CBS headquarters? Give Andy Rooney something real to *** and moan about, instead of just being another CBS fat cat complaining about pointless ***. Maybe after 100 years, CBS could actually be constructive, actually help people, and gain some respect.

Ed Donovan

[virgie58]

Those most frequently targeted by society are homeless and have mental illness. Despite attempts to destigmatize mental illness, discriminatory practices continue into the 21st Century. What makes this even worse is that the United States prides itself on its compassion to others - offering help. Is this a social or government problem? Well society elects the government....

While in graduate school working on my doctorate I had a major psychotic break with delusions and hallucinations. In a state of mind that is only compared to the contents of a Steven King novel - I ended up driving 1600 miles to escape people I perceives would kill me. I ended up in Northern New Mexico and became stuck in sand. The police came and placed me in handcuffs when he figured out I was a "not right" to protect himself. They then took me to a State hospital that held me for three weeks. And then one day informed me that I was going to be driven to Albuquerque and left at the bus station and I could find shelter from there - all because my truck had been towed by the police 100 miles away. I was still psychotic and delusion. I then proceed to call the Patient Advocate and plead my case that I was a woman and that my chances of being rape were astronomical. I angered everyone. But I won. They miraculously found me shelter nearby - in a matter of 5 minutes.

I suppose that is my suffering and my grace - because for a brief moment I too was considered homeless and beneath respect or dignity.

[ambimas]

While this may shck some of your viewers it is no shock to me that hospitals in L.A. have resorted to desperate measures. They have a 30 jump on the over crowding that will take place if the illegal immigrant crisis is not resolved by sending them back and securing our borders! If we don't act now every major city in America will feel this strain if they don't already. Politicians had better wake up or we'll have anarchy in this country with no solution. Where is the libs of hollywood with all their money? how can a 50 sq. block area exsist in their community? what a bunch of hippocrites!!!!!

[randalds]

The problem of dumping by hospitals and police agencies in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles has been going on a long time. However it's only recently become a "problem" that needs to be dealt with since the more well to do in L.A. have re-discovered the downtown area. throughout the downtown area, including the Skid Row area, old factories and warehouses are being converted into multi-million dollar lofts and condos. Once the well to do moved downtown they discovered, much to there horror, that homeless and mentally ill people were all over the place. of course they'd been there for years before these new yuppies moved down there, but now that they're there they want the homeless to go somewhere, anywhere, else. So the city in order to please these well to do'ers started the so-called Safe Streets Initiative, whose only real goal is to drive the homeless away by throwing them in jail of psychiatric hospitals. My wife was one of the RN's sent down there, but she got into trouble because she constantly refused to put homeless people on "hold" (commitment) if they didn't meet criteria. The city doesn't care about that, they just want the committed.

[sasi1-2009]

In Answer to: Posted by spydercadet

You bet it's been going on a long time -- try checking Reagan's administration. That is when it became illegal to hold anyone with mental problems more than 72 hours. Truthfully, there is no easy answer to this problem, and it is ridiculous to blame everything on the hospitals. They are not equipped to handle long term mental cases. It is a crime that most mental institutions have been shut down. Bush is rightfully guilty of many things, but this one isn't on his doorstep. Neither is it on Bill Clinton's. You had best check your facts before pointing fingers as all of you Republicans like to do. Truth is that Bill Clinton was a good president, and Bush is so stupid it is impossible to believe anything good of him.

[kathylee5]

It makes me angry to see hospitals scapegoated like this for government's failure to cope with the problem of homelessness and all its causes and cures. Politicians find it easier to point at "dumping" as if by doing this they are helping solve the problem when in fact what they are doing is shirking their own responsibility to find and fund real solutions.

60 Minutes presented this as "Bad, bad hospital". You're part of the problem if you imply Kaiser is insensitive dispite caring for so many indigent people daily. Why? Because the government won't insure indigent people the burden falls on hospitals. 60 Minutes owes its viewers an explanation that shows the way to a solution rather than blaming the hospital. You missed an opportunity to truly educate rather than to play "gotcha" with hospital adminitrators.

[spydercadet]

This is NOT the real story, it's only a story filled with half truths. Unfortunately, CBS did not feel the need to tell the real problem behind the "dumping" of people onto the streets. Does know what hospitals are faced with when this occurs. The people doing the "dumping" are NOT the administrators, or the owners, or the evil insurance companies. It is however, people like me, the doctors and nurses faced with these situations everyday. I began working in the medical field more than 25 years ago. That's when the big push from people like CBS 60 minutes reporters began to rally against putting people in institutions. Well, they got their way, what did everyone think was going to happen? This is it. I have on more than one occasion had to let people out of the hospital into cold dark nights, knowing that they would die shortly. Medicare and Medicaid do not pay for ongoing services, mental illness can not be used as a reason to keep people confined unless they are a danger to themselves or others, then it only lasts for 72 hours. We closed the institutions and opened the cold streets of cities and made a whole sub-culture of the homeless. This is NOT a result of the "Bush Administration" However, I do know that they are responsible for all ills that are inflicted on every human on this planet, after all aren't they evil personified? Please, get real, this has been going on for a very long time, even under you god - Bill Clinton.

[larryh491]

I'm a police officer from Northeast Ohio, (Cleveland area). Although we are no LA, we have
a homeless problem just like the rest of America, (Cleveland being one of the poorest big cities in America). Though what the hospital staff did was wrong in these situations, America's police officers are not surprised. We come into contact with people just like those portrayed on 60 minutes everyday. When other government entities fail at taking care of America's homeless, what should police officer, hospital staff, or social worker do? Take them home with us?

[dmm35]

Ok, I have a question for everyone. I know the hopsital has a responsibility, however where does it end? Are they supposed to send home patients with their staff so they dont end up back WHERE THEY CAME FROM in the first place? Want to know the solution? Socialized medicine, then everyone has insurance so the hospitals don't throw you out once they learn they arent going to make a profit on your care. Mr Olvera gave his address as a mission, he was taken to that address not once but TWICE, how much more was the hospital supposed to do? We need to wake up and see that this is a problem far larger than the 'get everyone a laptop in Cambodia' story.

[bmikesci]

Good story! This shows clearly why we need a single payer, national health system. If you leave healthcare to the free market, you are guaranteed to get the very worst people administrating the systems. Moreover, the disconnect between some sort of social safety net and the hospital can only be inplaced if the administration is common. With per capita GDP at a little over $40K, there should be no difficulty treating everyone who needs treatment. The reason this woman was dumped on skid row is because administrators and other greedy people have huge salaries. At the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, the head administrator earns $750K. For a non-profit non-tax paying organization, this is shameful.

[gypsyhotel]

Obviously, Anderson Cooper was more interested in playing the dramatic, then dealing with reality. In both of those cases, the woman's dementia (probably alcohol related Wiernicke's) and the paraplegic living in his car document the harsh realities of the american society and what support is offered to them. This is a government issue, to blame it on hospitals, who only tried to help them over the acute illness, and return them to their baseline, is ridiculous, they have to survive themselves, from a cost/benefit, there is no winning in helping the poor, and without support from government, forget it. That anderson didn't even address this is pathetic, he's playing to public emotion, look at the stupid naive questions he asked hospital officials, he's trying to boost his ratings and personal image. Shame on you, Anderson Cooper.

[ericv2644]

It is a practice not only of hospitals to dump the homeless but it is also the practice of many police depatments to dump homeless or mentally ill persons in the next jurisdiction so they don't have to deal with them.

[dubdub32]

I don't know about other countries, all I know is about Ontario canada...as far as Bush is concerned, if he's not acting like a dictator, then what is he acting like..his dad is a lot smarter then him, went in to do a job and left...now if Bush cared about the USA, he would take care of things at home before spending all that money for people who have been at war for over 2000 years..can y'all tell me how many more american boys and girls will die in Iraq? May he rot in hell