WTF: Patient goes missing from SF hospital- 3 weeks later her body is found in stairwell

[cali]

- A body discovered this week on an exterior stairwell at San Francisco General Hospital was confirmed Wednesday to be Lynne Spalding, a 57-year-old San Francisco woman who disappeared from her hospital bed nearly three weeks ago.

There were no answers, however, from hospital officials or the San Francisco Sheriff's Department about how Spalding died and wound up on the rarely-used stairwell, or whether the hospital was searched thoroughly after she disappeared.

The family of the woman who went missing from her hospital room between 10:15 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Sept. 21 said they were dissatisfied with the official update on Wednesday, their frustration amplified by what they considered a paltry number of answers relative to their growing number of questions.

Officials at the hospital, along with a San Francisco sheriff's spokesman, said the body discovered Tuesday appeared to be Spalding but would not take any questions regarding the ongoing case.

<snip>

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_24275390/san-francisco-body-found-hospital-stairwell-confirmed-missing

[Ian David]

1. I wonder if someone from the hospital "borrowed" her for a while and then put her in the stairwell.

Maybe kept her somewhere, alive or dead, for 2-3 weeks before leaving her there.

:shudder:

[Blue_Tires]

9. I'm sort of reminded of the fallout from this story:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2887452

[jberryhill]

2. At least the hospital gets to charge for the three weeks

Good thing they found her still in the hospital, otherwise it would be outpatient treatment.

[tularetom]

3. I heard this story on the radio this morning

A relative of the dead woman was commenting on the situation and he sounded both articulate and pissed.

IMO SF General is going to be in very deep shit if they can't explain this situation.

[bettyellen]

4. My Mom disappeared from her hospital room, and I was the only one concerned and

searching. I found her in a stairwell too, she couldn't open the door to get to the next floor.
Scary stuff.

[Ruby the Liberal]

5. Hello lawsuit.

Condolences to the family.

[etherealtruth]

7. I am generally not litigious ...

...but, some situations demand it.

[Blue_Tires]

6. I'm interested in knowing the full story behind this

because the hospital's explanation so far is full of WTF?

[Hell Hath No Fury]

8. Not to hard to understand -

when you know the hospital. First, the stairwell she was found in was an exterior emergency stairwell that is otherwise totally unused. Once you go out you cannot get back in -- on any floor level -- the door in locked and you cannot reenter. I happened to get stuck in just such a stairwell at another SF hospital and, if I had been in any way impaired (as her friends suggested), I would have been stuck myself. I had to pound on a door until someone on the floor heard me and opened a door for me. Second, patients up and "disappearing" from that hospital -- the City's main hospital -- is not uncommon. It is usually done by folks who want treatment but are avoiding any attempt to collect for services, or who not want to remain overnight. I witnessed this myself at SF General emergency room: a gentleman getting breathing treatments for asthma up and walked out once his breathing got better -- just slipped away when no one was looking. The doctors and nurses were not surprised in the least.

SF General is a large, chaotic public hospital positively crawling with patients. I can understand how this happened. This is a very sad tragedy.

[Hekate]

10. Sounds like the stairwells and their doors need to have a fail-safe system for monitoring ...

... along with a bit more than passive cameras (though that would help too). Patients are by definition impaired, and if they (or anyone else) takes a wrong turn -- wow, your experience was scary enough.

[magical thyme]

11. that explains how she got "lost," but not why they didn't attempt to search for her

Per the article, a friend and family member had brought her into the hospital. When she was discovered missing, her friends and family searched for her. If she were trying to skip out on a bill, they wouldn't have been searching for her. When they realized her friends and family were searching for her, knowing the hospital was the last place she'd been seen, the hospital should have searched every effing stairwell. Especially knowing that they had stairwells that could lock you out.



A search party spent more than a week canvassing the city with fliers bearing Spalding's picture after friends suspected drugs given to her at the hospital may have made her even more disoriented, said Perry, who added that the hospital did not issue a statement regarding the woman's disappearance until the search had already been in progress for 10 days.

"That's 10 days after dozens of family and friends were scouring the streets of San Francisco with fliers because we were under the assumption that SF General had been searched, and Lynne was not here," said Perry, who claims that while San Francisco police have been in daily contact with Spalding's family, the hospital has done little in the way of updates, even to her closest family members.

[Jesus Malverde]

12. It doesn't explain it.

She left property like her cell phone in the room, that should have been a clue something was amiss and this wasn't just another walk away. She was hospitalized for a urinary tract infection and was on heavy duty antibiotics which can cause psychiatric effects.

Others are speculating she was a smoker who got locked out. Either way it's massive negligence in the care of a patient.

[magical thyme]

13. agreed.

Once they realized she was missing, especially knowing she had been brought in because she was disoriented and especially considering that she'd left property behind, they should have searched every unlocked room and every stairwell.

There are procedures and policies in place for "wandering" patients. And you don't stop looking until they are found.

It is criminal negligence.

[riverwalker]

14. we have patients leave all the time

they sneak outside to smoke etc. sometimes they don't come back, they even leave with their IV saline lock still in place! You cannot legally stop them unless you have a 72 hour medical hold, which you can maybe get if psychotic, or suicidal. In fact if you do try to stop them, they will accuse you of battery (I have seen it). You can come and go as you please, did she go to the gift shop? The cafeteria? Leaving her room would not trigger a panic unless she was a totally confused Alzheimer's patient or something.
She was admitted for "losing weight" and found to have a urinary tract infection. The antibiotics shouldn't make you confused (I have never heard of that), however the UTI may, in older people, but she was only 57. Pain meds maybe? A urinary infection would not usually get heavy duty pain meds. Sleeping pills, maybe. If she was so "confused" enough to wander and get lost, it may be she was going through alcohol withdrawal, usually peaks at 48 hours without alcohol and she had been in the hospital 2 days. The timing would be right, but she would have other symptoms, but maybe a busy staff missed it. People always deny it ("Aunt Millie has never touched a drop!" Then she goes into full blown DT's 2 days post-op) My guess is that she was looking for a place to smoke, but why no one heard her (assuming she banged on the door, I don't know). Unless there is documentation that she was indeed "confused" and impaired the law does not require 24 hour constant supervision of an adult. It is a hospital, not a prison.

[mia]

15. So sorry for Lynn and her family. n/t