Living

Hospital cited over woman left in cold in hospital gown

20 of March 2018

FILE - This Jan. 9, 2018, file still image taken from video provided by Imamu Baraka shows a woman discharged from a Baltimore hospital wearing only a gown and socks on a cold winter's night. Federal regulators have cited a Baltimore hospital in connection with the January incident in which the mentally ill woman was discharged and left at an open-air bus stop wearing only the flimsy gown and socks, the Baltimore Sun reported Tuesday, March 20. (Imamu Baraka via AP, File),FILE - This Jan. 9, 2018, file still image taken from video provided by Imamu Baraka shows a woman discharged from a Baltimore hospital wearing only a gown and socks on a cold winter's night. Federal regulators have cited a Baltimore hospital in connection with the January incident in which the mentally ill woman was discharged and left at an open-air bus stop wearing only the flimsy gown and socks, the Baltimore Sun reported Tuesday, March 20. (Imamu Baraka via AP, File)

Federal regulators have cited a Baltimore hospital in connection with a January incident in which a mentally ill woman was discharged and left at an open-air bus stop wearing only a flimsy gown and socks. The Baltimore Sun reported Tuesday that a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services investigation found the University of Maryland Medical Center violated patient rights.

BALTIMORE (AP) — Federal regulators have cited a Baltimore hospital in connection with a January incident in which a mentally ill woman was discharged and left at an open-air bus stop wearing only a flimsy gown and socks.

The Baltimore Sun reported Tuesday that a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services investigation found the University of Maryland Medical Center violated patient rights as well as several patient safety and hospital management regulations.

The 22-year-old woman had been treated for a head wound, but authorities say she became resistant while being discharged. Security intervened and escorted the visibly disoriented woman outside, where temperatures were in the 30s (near zero Celsius).

The hospital, which previously apologized for a lack of “basic humanity and compassion,” has outlined a corrective plan in response to the violations.