Showing posts with label Patient Safety. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Patient Safety. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
What About Me?
Thank you-—- worst day ever.T’m foing tojsmf yo&
[poy amy ,aycjes?
Please note that I am copying a third party with this e-mail.
1. Social Security must be advised immediately that they have
(a) The amount on the check is significantly less than the amount stated in the letter I received less than one month ago
(b) My former representative payee misreported my income on his last statement
(c) In addition to misreporting my income, he checked the wrong box so he never told them that I am longer working and do not receive any either income
This is important for several reasons because my re-certification for food stamps and TennCare (Medicaid) is tomorrow and DHS uses the income reported to Social Security to determine my eligibility status. There is somewhat of d domino effect since my Section payment was also changed effective 8/1/2008 based on this information, and as you are aware, my former case manager never mailed in any of the documents requested last March.
I have taken care of the subrogation claim, however, that does not minimize my level of frustration because I am DROWNING in paperwork. I have contacted several agencies to provide assistance, however I do not have the resources necessary to provide them with timely response. There is a very limited time allowed to request reconsideration or ff file an appeal.
I have done everything humanly possible to clean up the slack, however ant this point, I feel I have no other choice than to file a formal complaint so that my entire case is reviewed. The number of mistakes is so overwhelming that I simply do not have enough time to documents each and every one with the respective agency.
I also want to be clear that every time I have to call Social Security or DHS, it only compounds my cost of living expenses (40 cents per minute on the telephone -- a bill which is not even considered to be a justifiable expense) Most agencies do not include self-addressed stamped envelopes, and I can not afford the postage required to mail out all of the requested documentation (e.g., utility bills, medical bills, pay stubs, etc.)
Fortunately, a number of agencies will take online complaints. Unfortunately, my internet was interrupted for non-payment for several weeks and there is no funding resource or community agency that provides subsidized Internet access or free printer ink.
Transportation costs are ridiculous so going to the library is not an option. Neither is returning to work right now, since it would cost too much to get to the interview or provide official (expensive) copies of my graduate school transcripts that were oh, such a good investment!
Set aside, I am not the most user friendly person right about now, so I have found it difficult to put on a happy face so I can work at McDonald's which pays more than Metro anyway.
The subrogation claim has been resolved but I just learned that my breast biopsy was not [pre-authorized and I was told by my INSURANCE CSR (the person who answers the phone) that I should not have the surgery that has already been scheduled at the Women's hospital for 8/21/2008 since they did not authorize the biopsy last month, and have not received a request prior authorization for the surgery that has already been scheduled for next week...
This was a lovely 54 minute conversation because he would not mail me copies of my EOBs or confirm that what, if any, requests have been submitted for payment since my last inquiry and change of address. He finally told me that to call the state (Tennessee) which I have already done several times, and they told me to call Social Security but it was already past business hours and I am not authorized to make changes to my file anyway.
I will try to be more specific later without going into too much detail, but unfortunately, that level of detail is required to file the necessary appeals. Ironic huh? This apartment is like my own little cage, and I am just pathetic enough to run around in circles, hoping to find the much like a hamster wheel, rodent chasing in circles hoping to found my way out my way out before I run out air. If only I had finished my damn PhD, I would do my own case study or reality show on how far we will go to have nothing at all...
And even though my life is a living hell, I have almost learned how to enjoy the sheer irony of it all... for someone with OCD and post-traumatic stress, this is truly a ridiculous little experiment.
I'll be in touch when I can. Unfortunately, each agency has different deadlines, and it takes a lot of energy and time to scan in, copy, or respond to each inquiry in writing, so I find myself running out of time since I cannot seem to get anything done unless I just do nothing at all.
I am becoming increasingly inspired to just burn every last document I own, throw away my keys and my cell phone and take Spotty some place where we can live off the land and ignore the fact that society has me chained to a computer screen that screen that does provide the basic necessities I need to live in this .
I have come this far, and I am becoming rather skilled and at expressing myself without needing an audience or the obsessive need to check every fact, throw, and typo for capitalization and perfection.
So for now... I write. Maybe later, I'll read, but if there is any justice left in this world, someday, I'll actually live.
Good-bye for now. I need a break.
With love,
Your little sis.
________________________________________________________________
Elyssa Durant, Ed.M.
Nashville, Tennessee
Reply to: elyssa.durant@columbia.edu
"You may not care how much I know, but you don't know how much I care."
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Dedicated to The Lost
Having worked for a private foster care agency (profit-driven) company contracted by the Department of Children's Services through the State of Tennessee, I would like to share what I've learned through my experience working with older adolescents reaching the age of majority-18-who are being released from state custody with the Department of Children's Services.
One child, now twenty, is pregnant and moves from place to place every few days or so (photos attached). When I first got her case, 5 years or so ago, she had concrete goals, dreams and aspirations. She had hope. She wanted to go to college. Now, today, she is homeless, pregnant, and has been without services since the day (and I do mean day!) she turned 18. (Pictures of her currrent "home" are posted next to this article.)
On her 18th birthday, Ms. DB was dropped off at a Food Lion parking lot in Gallatin, TN without any money, clothing, food, healthcare, benefits, e.g., food stamps, transportation and no where to go. She was on her own with a 10th grade education and no GED.
Cody G is a young man who was diagnosed with a brain tumor at 19, shortly after leaving custody. He was denied TennCare 4 times before I made the decision to get involved at any cost. Like all of my other former DCS clients (at least those who have contacted me over the years) CG is also chronically homeless, unemployable, and has only a 10th grade education, epilepsy, and a mental illness. He TennCare is ending 3/31/2008-not quite enough time to plan and execute the brain surgery he needs to help him live a relatively normal life...
I'm still involved, but tomorrow I will turn his case file over to two new case managers and hope that they can keep up the pace. I have to let go. I can't pay my internet bill!
I hope and pray that all of the hard work I have put into his case: applying for benefits, social security, Medicaid, Food Stamps, even a library card and a voter registration card (which are a dime a dozen in this town; Nashville, TN; these days) so that he can get the brain surgery and medical treatment he needs and deserves does not get lost when I go back to work next week. I have assured him that I will not abandon him like everyone else in the past-besides, I hold his history-his memory-his voter registration, TennCare and Social Security cards[1].
These children and young adults (DB, CG, CW, and CB) and a few other exceptional children left an imprint on my heart long after I left my position with the Department of Children's Services...
After leaving the private (contract) agency I was working for, it took a very long time for me to decide whether I should continue in the field of social services for children. You see, I was under the impression that foster care was about children. Wrong.
Unfortunately, I came to realize that it was more about money than children. Private agencies pay barely there, barely trained "people" upwards of $40-60/day per child tax-free. One foster parent I worked with kept ten children in a four-bedroom home in Madison. She also kept chains on the refrigerator door so the children wouldn't eat too much food. Another family had multiple complaints of sexual assault filed against them, but those complaints were mysteriously absent from my case file when I left the agency. As was my actual signature on my case reports-they didn't even try to color between the lines when falsified my records with white out. Who can be that lazy? Who can be that reckless? Who can be that person?
I was deeply saddened by this realization because I was unsure what to do with the information I had acquired throughout the years. However, at this point in my life, I do feel that I have some ethical obligation to either speak out or take action to work towards resolving the systemic problems in the privatized foster care environment.
I came to the realization that I may be able to use my own voice to speak for the children who have been repeatedly silenced by our society: our schools, our courts, our social service system, and the adults they relied upon to have their most basic needs met.
DB and CG speak openly with me about anything and everything. It took them a while, but after working with them so closely for seven years (I do not get paid or reimursed for any off the services, or expenses when trying to get thmem the help they need) Their willingness to meet with people and discuss their experience while in the custody of the children's services was a n opportunity to change the system.
Focx News knew within minutes of several of these situations. The reporter told me he didn't have tome t bothered. Well Fuck you too, Sky. You wouldn't know a decent story when it was in front of your face.
Focx News knew within minutes of several of these situations. The reporter told me he didn't have tome t bothered. Well Fuck you too, Sky. You wouldn't know a decent story when it was in front of your face.
However, if you believe (like I do) that sharing these stories (albeit anecdotal) may ultimately lead to profound changes and reform within the foster care system, then I am quite certain my former clients would be more than willing to speak with anyone who has the capacity to make things better for their natural and foster siblings still in the system, I do not see a problem so long as we can create a space where they can speak freely without fear of repercussions.
DB is not alone in her experience, and for whatever reason, these children seem to feel comfortable sharing their stories with me. They know the ttruth about me that I never revealed until recently....that I too was one of the lost.
There is another young man, Cody G, who is an incredibly gifted writer that deserves to be heard and recognized. Much like DB, he has experienced a great deal of difficulty finding stable living arrangements once discharged from DCS custody. Because he was constantly in motion, moving from place to place to place-- I agreed to hold onto his personal journals documenting his experience in DCS.
His voice deserves to be heard along with a chorus of others! Some of these children develop such fascinating ways to cope with the pain, the isolation and the abandonment issues they grow up with, and I try to do the best I can to steer them in the right direction.
Talent such as Cody's and perseverance like DB's should be revered, celebrated, respected, and validated-- not thrown away or ignored..
Foster care is mess. What happens next is a complete and utter tragedy. I hope you are deeply disturbed by the contents of this letter-if so-my job is done for the day!
Let your voice be heard-- contact your representatives, the press!
Shout it from the rooftops if you need to: I did.
This despicable state of affairs and this not so well hidden secret about privatized foster care in the state of Tennessee must come to an end!
Shout it from the rooftops if you need to: I did.
This despicable state of affairs and this not so well hidden secret about privatized foster care in the state of Tennessee must come to an end!
The Leaveless Plant by Cody Gambill© 2006
I am a plant without any roots
I bring no syrup I bear no fruits
I am not much to look at without any flowers
All I do is sit and stare for hours
Every so often, I wander off to find a new spot
Feeling no attachment to anything I've got
Every time I move, I lose a leaf or two
But no one will notice because here I am new
After moving a while, I look down to see
How oblivious I am to my nudity
All of my moving has shaken me bare
Embarrassed and all I ignore the stares
But the more I think the better I feel
Because the leaves from me provided a meal
So I am important like all on this earth
Think I'll settle down and show this world what I'm worth
And this is how DB lives: Pregnant at age 20:
The bathtub.
No door.
No curtain.
The sink.
The mold.
The baby...
[1] I must give kudos to Judge Dan Eisenstein from the Mental Health Court of Davidson County who has paved the way to make getting CG Transitional Services as he ventures out into the world alone-if only I could get reimbursed for my time! Judge Eisenstein is untraditional, compassionate, and by far the most client-centered Judge I have ever had the honor of working with, no matter how briefly. Judge Eisenstein is paving the road for CG to have a chance-a chance at a future-a chance at a life-- a real one-free from Grand Mal seizures, self-injury, hypomania, rapid cycling, and suicidal ideations.
I also would like to express my gratitude to The Tennessee Justice Center, Tony Garr of the Tennessee Health Care Campaign, Lane Simpson, and Dave Aguzzi with the Department of Children's Services who are helping CG get transitional living services so he can get the care and treatment he did not receive while in custody. Kim Crane (from the Vanderbilt Center for Child & Family Policy Center) has also been instrumental in serving as a liaison with Transitional Youth Programs and helped me get connected to the right people and programs efficiently and effectively. Thanks to you all!.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Severely Disturbed
The correspondence below, along with many others who just pretend I don't exist.
Now I know exactly how much I mean to this City. PAY ME TO LEAVE!!!!!
There is nothing quite so disturbing as being invisible. Yes. I am homeless. I have lived through a shooting, an assault by a security guard at a medical facility, and with no other place to go, I rented a room in a house for low income adults who are SEVERELY FUCKING DISTURBED!!!!
Now I am deeply disturbed too. I am deeply disturbed that this is the best we can do.
At least I know I need help, and when to get it. Despite being owned by a CMHA [Community Mental Health Agency] and the recipient of both state and federal funds, the only rule in this house is don't call 911. In other words, when locked out or assaulted by one of the 3 other house mates, Mobile Crisis is OFF LIMITS. Now I know better than anyone that Mobile Crisis sucks, but when you are standing beneath a 6 foot woman holding a waffle iron over your head, 911, mobile crisis, IDGAF who intervenes, just someone do something!
I called the crisis hotline the other day. In all honesty, I just had no one else to talk to, my internets had been disconnected and sabotaged, the house phone locked up. I was just lonely (and locked out during a tornado warning)
But trust me, there is nothing quite like sticking me in a house with SSPMI (super severe persistent mental illness) that make me look almost normal and and a landlord with a no-call policy against Mobile Crisis and mental health helplines.
I have lost everything near and dear to me since I first offered to participate with the local police department after the shooting downstairs. That was in February.
Next, I lose Spotty because not a single person in Nashville has enough compassion to rescue an innocent animal that I rescued from one of clients several years ago. And you wonder why I'm so angry?
Now I know exactly how much I mean to this City. PAY ME TO LEAVE!!!!!
There is nothing quite so disturbing as being invisible. Yes. I am homeless. I have lived through a shooting, an assault by a security guard at a medical facility, and with no other place to go, I rented a room in a house for low income adults who are SEVERELY FUCKING DISTURBED!!!!
Now I am deeply disturbed too. I am deeply disturbed that this is the best we can do.
At least I know I need help, and when to get it. Despite being owned by a CMHA [Community Mental Health Agency] and the recipient of both state and federal funds, the only rule in this house is don't call 911. In other words, when locked out or assaulted by one of the 3 other house mates, Mobile Crisis is OFF LIMITS. Now I know better than anyone that Mobile Crisis sucks, but when you are standing beneath a 6 foot woman holding a waffle iron over your head, 911, mobile crisis, IDGAF who intervenes, just someone do something!
I called the crisis hotline the other day. In all honesty, I just had no one else to talk to, my internets had been disconnected and sabotaged, the house phone locked up. I was just lonely (and locked out during a tornado warning)
But trust me, there is nothing quite like sticking me in a house with SSPMI (super severe persistent mental illness) that make me look almost normal and and a landlord with a no-call policy against Mobile Crisis and mental health helplines.
I have lost everything near and dear to me since I first offered to participate with the local police department after the shooting downstairs. That was in February.
Next, I lose Spotty because not a single person in Nashville has enough compassion to rescue an innocent animal that I rescued from one of clients several years ago. And you wonder why I'm so angry?
PLEASE SAVE SPOTTY http://darknightdurant.blogspot.com/2009/04/please-save-spotty.html
Don't worry, I know you want my silence, that message came through loud and clear.
You can take everything from me [actually, you already have] but you will not take my voice. And I can promise you this, my memory is long, and it is hot. Look it up assholes, hot memory.
Yeah... you did this. Now it's my turn.
Continue to sneak a peak every now and then.... your e-mails will appear on this page. Fuck you, and fuck you right back. Happy Anniversary, Elyssa. You have officially been a resident of this fine fucking state for exactly 13 years.
Kicking ass, not so much... taking names... you can bet your sweet ass I am!
....JUST ONE MORE UNANSWERED LETTER...
Legal Aid / or pro-bono refused to will represent me since my parents are attorneys. They told me I would have to get the money for court fees and a court reporter from them. That just ain't gonna happen.
I am 36 years old.
I don't mean to be rude or disrespectful in any way-- you have been extremely kind and gracious towards me, I am just exhausted by this process and I think it is pretty easy to see that I am stuck between a rock and a hard place.
I want it all can make sure it on the record before I loose my section 8. When I called Metro Crisis, they told, "well, you are just fgoing to have to accept the fact that you are going to be homeless."
I am 36 years old.
I don't mean to be rude or disrespectful in any way-- you have been extremely kind and gracious towards me, I am just exhausted by this process and I think it is pretty easy to see that I am stuck between a rock and a hard place.
I want it all can make sure it on the record before I loose my section 8. When I called Metro Crisis, they told, "well, you are just fgoing to have to accept the fact that you are going to be homeless."
I'm not quite sure how one prepares to do that, but I'm trying.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Who Owns My Copyright: Integrity & Ethics of Online Publishing
Who Owns My Copyright? Integrity & Ethics of Online Publishing May 04, 2009 by Elyssa Durant Elyssa Durant Published Content: 65 Total Views: 8,795
DELETED CONTENT: (DATE OF DELETION: UNKNOWN!)
PUBLISHED: Saturday, March 21, 2009: URGENT CALL TO ACTION: PATIENT SAFETY ALERT NOW!
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1583312/urgent_patient_safety_alert_alliance.html
This was an online project on the quality of healthcare that was published on March 21, 2009. Without notice or justification, this content was removed from Associated Content.
Because I am finding this content being removed from the internet... this is STILL the best I can do.... I am hitting publish so I can get it online, as a social media experiment to see how long it will be allowed to stay there. Please note that I received no payment for this publication or any of the prior publication that has since been removed. Please contact me if possible if you happen to be some kind of magical hacker that can figure track back to the date of removal, IP address or source. I believe this is something everyone should know before walking into a for-profit Hospital in the United States of America.
If you wish to reference this article academically, please let me know.... if you plan to revisit it at a later date, I suggest you copy the content into a text document since not only was it removed; but it was removed without any notification, justification, or made available to me in its original form.
"right now this is the best I can do... recognize that this article is still very much a work a progress... but I need the your help and support personally, professionally. For our fellow brothers and sisters; here and across the world; for those who are unable to speak for themselves; for those without access to information or without the Internet; please join in my campaign: for I am merely a foot soldier, an army of ONE! Thanks to all you crazy those tweeters out there (and we all know who you are!) for helping me survive this difficult crisis... With love, edd"
"Twatever..." I was contacted by regional administrator at my insurance company (not my region of course) that my case was under review two weeks after filing a complaint with the state. I have yet to hear anything about the status regarding the number of professional, ethical and legal violations described below.
Previous complaints regarding HIPPA violations, inaccurate billing and errors in claims data have been ignored. I was, at one pint told "Thank you for letting us know that 150,000 people may lose their TennCare this week.... and thanks to your inquiry, we are developing a protocol should there be any further inquiries regarding The Daniels Class of TennCare Recipients. 130,000 people in the state of Tennessee who are slated to be cut from TennCare starting immediately. When the state received concrete evidence from an attorney who accidentally came across some of private protected personal information, the legal department sent an email an appointed member of the Governor Phil Bredesen's Cabinet who then forwarded the information to the legal department.
At that point it was suggested to me via email that I "may wish to contact federal authorities to report the HIPPA violations since they tend to take these things more seriously." It would have been nice had they provided a number, email, or direct contact so I wouldn't have to spend countless hours on hold with an automated system in Washington only to find out they were unable to release any information (ironically, due to HIPPA laws) so I am left wondering if there will ever be a time for justice in America for the average (non-litigious) person who just wants accountability, culpability and systemic change.
Regardless of whether I contact federal authorities, an attorney or an advocacy organization.... does that make the appropriate state agency, the insurance company, the individual medical providers or hospital administrators any less culpable? I think not, however, it is nearly impossible for a person in my circumstances (financially, physically, and personally) to find justice and accountability. Please take action. Please do not let this happen to anyone in America or any other place in the world.
Yes, I do have a mental illness. To that I will concede. However, I also have a medical condition that makes it difficult for me to use certain types of electronic devices such as the one I am using right now. I have OCD and try NOT to let anything go without multiple spell-checks, grammar checks, and punctuation references, but right now, I gotta go.
I am human and I am not infallible, so please do not contact me to complain about such things, I have much bigger problems to deal with. So if you see an occasional error, incorrect spelling typo, formatting flukes or whatever.... please don't be petty and ridiculous like the [person who actually thought it was a good idea to write me a letter to tell me that I spelled Obsessive wrong in an article I wrote about OCd. I guarantee at some point I will not only take notice of my own errors, but spend countless hours worrying about how I could be so careless, and stupid for letting this go out without double, triple, and compulsively checking it for errors. Right now I don't have time. Maybe you do.
So if you plan use this as an assessment of my character, intelligence, or technical skills-- you are probably not someone I want to hear from anyway. If you are someone who cares about the content... please feel free to edit, format, fix, or whatever, just please let me know, and send me the corrected content ;-)
I would not mind having this republished-- but if you are making money off of my experience, please have enough courtesy to recognize that I am not. It would be nice to know that my "work" has a value greater than the $10.52 I have received for all of the writing I have done for myself and others throughout the tears. (That was a typo-- meant to be "years" but one that I do not feel compelled to change-- yay for OCD and radical acceptance)
I would love to know that my words and experience have some value to society,
Keep in mind that I do not have the tools, skills, money and a number of other things that when I do not have the tools or I need to help me adjust to the insanity around me. I say that because this kind of treatment anywhere-- is cruel, unusual and insane. Being treated this way year after year after year, there comes a point where a person in my situation has nothing left to lose. I am there. So here goes... PLEASE RETWEET!
***
However, not only does this quality of care compromise my emotional and physical well-being, it doesn't help to be silenced or ignored. "Just because I'm Crazy, it doesn't mean I'm not right!" Since my identity has already compromised, used on false insurance claims, tax documents, and informal communications that I was made aware of by an attorney... I really have nothing left to lose by putting myself out there.
I do not check email at this site, so as an alternative measure, you may be more successful using an alternative such as ed70 (at) columbia (dot) edu
CLICK TO CALL: http://healthcareforamericanow.org/site/action_center
PATIENT SAFETY ALERT: ALLIANCE FOR COMPLIANCE: AN URGENT CALL TO ACTION... NOW!
http://thepowersthatbeat.blogspot.com/2009/03/urgent-call-to-action-patient-safety.html
After refusing to sign several documents while seeking treatment at the emergency room on March 7, 2009, I found my self locked up on a 6044 hold at a local hospital in Nashville, Tennessee.
The most critical documents included a complicated consent form (informed consent for treatment) and several others regarding the assignment of benefits, insurance forms, HIPPA compliance, payment responsibility forms, and a few others.
state.tn.us/mental/t33/ModelForms.html
When I requested that I be given a few minutes to read and process the legally binding agreements I was being given, they became angry and impatient.
In retrospect, I suppose it really didn't matter what I was signing, since I clearly have a good argument for diminished capacity, especially now that I have had time to reflect on the sick irony of it all.
After all, how could I be asked to sign a document accepting financial responsibility if I was clearly out of my freakin' mind?
And although one could argue diminished capacity, or no fault by reason of mental defect or disease, hind-sight is 20/20, so I assumed that I would be held to that contract much like I was held to the terms of my student loans, my car loan, the non-compete clause from my last employer, or even the Columbia music club I signed up for when I was twelve.... you know the one where they send you 12 CD's for the price of a penny???
Yes, they all held me to the terms of my contract... either by hunting me down and harassing me endlessly over the phone; reporting adversely to the credit bureaus, sending me to collection; and even a few times to court in an attempt to collect a debt from a creditor. They all held me to the terms of my contract. So I thought I should be cautious before entering into any others...
In fact, I was in Civil Court yesterday for a being sued for a $21 balance on my water bill. Granted it has since been paid in full and the check has been cashed... but now they have added late fees, attorney fees, court costs and a bunch of other things to the complaint, so I with the addition of a late fee of $4.50, so you can expect to see me in Court again next Friday, hopefully with an attorney present if I can find one to represent me against this ridiculous claim.
Keep in mind that it will cost me $12 to park; the fact that balance has been paid in full, and for those of you who have been following along and paying attention, don't forget about the four days I went without hot water.
Add to that the 12-24 hours I spent in constant contact with the police regarding a shooting in the just below mine, clearly I must be hysterical, on drugs, or both to make repeated calls to 862-8600 non-emergency police hotline, and then escalating it by making several calls to 911. Is it any wonder that I am acting just a little bit strange?
Well, to get back to the reason I am writing without reservation today, I currently face eviction and that makes me a bit anxious... because no sooner than I could return home form the Psychiatric Unit and take a hot bath at "my" apartment, the someone showed up from the Sheriff's office to serve me with a warrant (that was written on carbon paper and modified multiple times making it difficult to read or understand what I was being charged with, when I needed to be in court, and what I needed to do to adequately defend myself.
So within hours of being medically cleared and released from a 5-day stay at "Club Head." the Sheriff shows up with eviction papers, and my mother became extremely concerned that I she might lose money if she has to change the flight... well since then she has severed the "family plan contract" and removed me a primary account holder on my cell phone contract, turned off the e-mail and text messaging feature, changed MY password, and has sworn never to speak to me again.
My cell phone number is being held hostage through T-Mobile so I cannot take my number with me to another carrier (even if I had the money or the credit to open an account with another provider, and has promised to cut off my cell service on the last day of the contract, at midnight tonight (March 22, 2009. All this because I wanted to change my flight to Las Vegas to attend her fourth wedding to a man she met less than six months ago... but, I digress... and there I go, talking crazy again...
*RESET*
(...and now back to the original program... )
At the hospital... I refused to sign the admission papers until and unless I was given the opportunity to read the forms, process the information, and make an educated decision about the treatment I was requesting for whatever the hell was wrong with me.
Apparently this was an unreasonable request. By refusing to sign without being given the opportunity to consult with a member of my immediate family who serves both as my medical proxy and healthcare decision maker, and power of attorney, I was escorted by two security guards to the third floor where all of my personal belongings and cell phone were quickly confiscated.
Simply because I refused to sign a blank consent?
http://www.state.tn.us/mental/legalCounsel/olc.html
It was my understanding that informed consent is the standard of care for medical treatment in the United States. Furthermore, to be denied the opportunity to consult with my medical decision maker, it seems that they should have done so especially if they were planning to administer medical treatment without my consent.
My medical proxy is clearly identified in my medical records, and even listed on the back of my driver's license with a "MR / ICE" [Medical Record / In Case of Emergency.]
So, I refused to sign.
Hospital personnel did not pull my primary care records or even attempt to take a medical history report, or locate my next of kin / emergency contact.
I chose this hospital because it is conveniently located on the same medical campus as my primary care provider, radiologist, and has a contract with my insurance company as a participating (and preferred) provider.
DMHT: Declaration of Mental Health Treatment:
http://state.tn.us/mental/t33/DHMT_FORM.pdf
The Tennessee Department of Mental Health & Developmental Disabilities
developed this form based on Tennessee Code Annotated Title 33, Chapter 6, Part 10. http://www.state.tn.us/mental/
6044: DMHT and the Tennessee Code Annotated Title 33, Chapter 6, Part 10
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1583312/urgent_patient_safety_alert_alliance.html
I have multiple cuts, bruises, abrasions all over my body. None of my injuries, including those that occurred while being "medical treatment" at a private, for-profit medical institution, were treated or evaluated during my stay. I was given multiple injections by security personnel after being forced into "compliance" in a private room. I was left unconscious without any emergency call buttons, fire exits, or safety precaution. The security guards removed their Identification Badges when I requested to see them, of course this was before they held me face down, twisted my arms and held them forcefully behind my back while one of them pulled down the leggings I had been wearing and then my underwear.
I had a 4 day supply of medication; (out of pocket) Trazodone was covered. I was released without any medication, just there prescriptions and returned to my apartment, without my car, or any way to get to the pharmacy. The 18 day prescription the doctor gave me cost $243.19. I could only afford a 5 day supply since they hospital staff did not get the medication pre-authorized by my insurance company as promised.
Just before leaving, I asked, just as I had each time I took my meds for the 5 days I spent on the unit if they were able to locate the record for the second injection that I was given while unconscious on the plastic mat. There was no mention of them anywhere in my medical records, even when my primary care physician requested them from the Medical Records Department.
I left with at least 7 puncture wounds from 7 injections (two of which were given by security guards) were not recorded in my medical records. I was not seen by a single physician -- not even an on call physician for over 72 hours -- a small fact which does appear in my medical records, but only if you calculate the time I was "admitted" and notes from the first time I met with a physician three and a half days later. cuts and bruises and abrasions, that were not medically treated or evaluated during my stay.
When I was released 5 days later, I was need prior-authorization for medication, transport to the pharmacy and transportation to a medical appointment scheduled on Wednesday at 10am. Effexor requires prior authorization, and the pharmacy then managed to fill the prescription incorrectly and mislabeled the bottle "take two tablets two times a day for two week, then take two tablets two times a day for two weeks." Once I realized the error, I promptly called the week a copy of my medical records from the psych unit asap, and do not feel I should have to pay $2.00/page for a copy. I had to pay $54 in cash for parking, and this is all I can type for right now.
Maybe I'll write more on this later, maybe not..." -edd March 17th, 2009.
Please join me in an Alliance for Compliance to protect both individual rights, encourage medical compliance, and enhance patient safety, by letting you voice be heard.
HELP IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF CARE FOR ALL.
CLICK TO CALL: http://tools.advomatic.com/8/hcnhttp://
http://healthcareforamericanow.org/site/action_center/
Thank you all,
Elyssa
http://thepowersthatbeat.blogspot.com/
http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeGFu05xB-8
DELETED CONTENT: (DATE OF DELETION: UNKNOWN!)
PUBLISHED: Saturday, March 21, 2009: URGENT CALL TO ACTION: PATIENT SAFETY ALERT NOW!
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1583312/urgent_patient_safety_alert_alliance.html
This was an online project on the quality of healthcare that was published on March 21, 2009. Without notice or justification, this content was removed from Associated Content.
Because I am finding this content being removed from the internet... this is STILL the best I can do.... I am hitting publish so I can get it online, as a social media experiment to see how long it will be allowed to stay there. Please note that I received no payment for this publication or any of the prior publication that has since been removed. Please contact me if possible if you happen to be some kind of magical hacker that can figure track back to the date of removal, IP address or source. I believe this is something everyone should know before walking into a for-profit Hospital in the United States of America.
If you wish to reference this article academically, please let me know.... if you plan to revisit it at a later date, I suggest you copy the content into a text document since not only was it removed; but it was removed without any notification, justification, or made available to me in its original form.
"right now this is the best I can do... recognize that this article is still very much a work a progress... but I need the your help and support personally, professionally. For our fellow brothers and sisters; here and across the world; for those who are unable to speak for themselves; for those without access to information or without the Internet; please join in my campaign: for I am merely a foot soldier, an army of ONE! Thanks to all you crazy those tweeters out there (and we all know who you are!) for helping me survive this difficult crisis... With love, edd"
"Twatever..." I was contacted by regional administrator at my insurance company (not my region of course) that my case was under review two weeks after filing a complaint with the state. I have yet to hear anything about the status regarding the number of professional, ethical and legal violations described below.
Previous complaints regarding HIPPA violations, inaccurate billing and errors in claims data have been ignored. I was, at one pint told "Thank you for letting us know that 150,000 people may lose their TennCare this week.... and thanks to your inquiry, we are developing a protocol should there be any further inquiries regarding The Daniels Class of TennCare Recipients. 130,000 people in the state of Tennessee who are slated to be cut from TennCare starting immediately. When the state received concrete evidence from an attorney who accidentally came across some of private protected personal information, the legal department sent an email an appointed member of the Governor Phil Bredesen's Cabinet who then forwarded the information to the legal department.
At that point it was suggested to me via email that I "may wish to contact federal authorities to report the HIPPA violations since they tend to take these things more seriously." It would have been nice had they provided a number, email, or direct contact so I wouldn't have to spend countless hours on hold with an automated system in Washington only to find out they were unable to release any information (ironically, due to HIPPA laws) so I am left wondering if there will ever be a time for justice in America for the average (non-litigious) person who just wants accountability, culpability and systemic change.
Regardless of whether I contact federal authorities, an attorney or an advocacy organization.... does that make the appropriate state agency, the insurance company, the individual medical providers or hospital administrators any less culpable? I think not, however, it is nearly impossible for a person in my circumstances (financially, physically, and personally) to find justice and accountability. Please take action. Please do not let this happen to anyone in America or any other place in the world.
Yes, I do have a mental illness. To that I will concede. However, I also have a medical condition that makes it difficult for me to use certain types of electronic devices such as the one I am using right now. I have OCD and try NOT to let anything go without multiple spell-checks, grammar checks, and punctuation references, but right now, I gotta go.
I am human and I am not infallible, so please do not contact me to complain about such things, I have much bigger problems to deal with. So if you see an occasional error, incorrect spelling typo, formatting flukes or whatever.... please don't be petty and ridiculous like the [person who actually thought it was a good idea to write me a letter to tell me that I spelled Obsessive wrong in an article I wrote about OCd. I guarantee at some point I will not only take notice of my own errors, but spend countless hours worrying about how I could be so careless, and stupid for letting this go out without double, triple, and compulsively checking it for errors. Right now I don't have time. Maybe you do.
So if you plan use this as an assessment of my character, intelligence, or technical skills-- you are probably not someone I want to hear from anyway. If you are someone who cares about the content... please feel free to edit, format, fix, or whatever, just please let me know, and send me the corrected content ;-)
I would not mind having this republished-- but if you are making money off of my experience, please have enough courtesy to recognize that I am not. It would be nice to know that my "work" has a value greater than the $10.52 I have received for all of the writing I have done for myself and others throughout the tears. (That was a typo-- meant to be "years" but one that I do not feel compelled to change-- yay for OCD and radical acceptance)
I would love to know that my words and experience have some value to society,
Keep in mind that I do not have the tools, skills, money and a number of other things that when I do not have the tools or I need to help me adjust to the insanity around me. I say that because this kind of treatment anywhere-- is cruel, unusual and insane. Being treated this way year after year after year, there comes a point where a person in my situation has nothing left to lose. I am there. So here goes... PLEASE RETWEET!
***
However, not only does this quality of care compromise my emotional and physical well-being, it doesn't help to be silenced or ignored. "Just because I'm Crazy, it doesn't mean I'm not right!" Since my identity has already compromised, used on false insurance claims, tax documents, and informal communications that I was made aware of by an attorney... I really have nothing left to lose by putting myself out there.
I do not check email at this site, so as an alternative measure, you may be more successful using an alternative such as ed70 (at) columbia (dot) edu
CLICK TO CALL: http://healthcareforamericanow.org/site/action_center
PATIENT SAFETY ALERT: ALLIANCE FOR COMPLIANCE: AN URGENT CALL TO ACTION... NOW!
http://thepowersthatbeat.blogspot.com/2009/03/urgent-call-to-action-patient-safety.html
After refusing to sign several documents while seeking treatment at the emergency room on March 7, 2009, I found my self locked up on a 6044 hold at a local hospital in Nashville, Tennessee.
The most critical documents included a complicated consent form (informed consent for treatment) and several others regarding the assignment of benefits, insurance forms, HIPPA compliance, payment responsibility forms, and a few others.
state.tn.us/mental/t33/ModelForms.html
When I requested that I be given a few minutes to read and process the legally binding agreements I was being given, they became angry and impatient.
In retrospect, I suppose it really didn't matter what I was signing, since I clearly have a good argument for diminished capacity, especially now that I have had time to reflect on the sick irony of it all.
After all, how could I be asked to sign a document accepting financial responsibility if I was clearly out of my freakin' mind?
And although one could argue diminished capacity, or no fault by reason of mental defect or disease, hind-sight is 20/20, so I assumed that I would be held to that contract much like I was held to the terms of my student loans, my car loan, the non-compete clause from my last employer, or even the Columbia music club I signed up for when I was twelve.... you know the one where they send you 12 CD's for the price of a penny???
Yes, they all held me to the terms of my contract... either by hunting me down and harassing me endlessly over the phone; reporting adversely to the credit bureaus, sending me to collection; and even a few times to court in an attempt to collect a debt from a creditor. They all held me to the terms of my contract. So I thought I should be cautious before entering into any others...
In fact, I was in Civil Court yesterday for a being sued for a $21 balance on my water bill. Granted it has since been paid in full and the check has been cashed... but now they have added late fees, attorney fees, court costs and a bunch of other things to the complaint, so I with the addition of a late fee of $4.50, so you can expect to see me in Court again next Friday, hopefully with an attorney present if I can find one to represent me against this ridiculous claim.
Keep in mind that it will cost me $12 to park; the fact that balance has been paid in full, and for those of you who have been following along and paying attention, don't forget about the four days I went without hot water.
Add to that the 12-24 hours I spent in constant contact with the police regarding a shooting in the just below mine, clearly I must be hysterical, on drugs, or both to make repeated calls to 862-8600 non-emergency police hotline, and then escalating it by making several calls to 911. Is it any wonder that I am acting just a little bit strange?
Well, to get back to the reason I am writing without reservation today, I currently face eviction and that makes me a bit anxious... because no sooner than I could return home form the Psychiatric Unit and take a hot bath at "my" apartment, the someone showed up from the Sheriff's office to serve me with a warrant (that was written on carbon paper and modified multiple times making it difficult to read or understand what I was being charged with, when I needed to be in court, and what I needed to do to adequately defend myself.
So within hours of being medically cleared and released from a 5-day stay at "Club Head." the Sheriff shows up with eviction papers, and my mother became extremely concerned that I she might lose money if she has to change the flight... well since then she has severed the "family plan contract" and removed me a primary account holder on my cell phone contract, turned off the e-mail and text messaging feature, changed MY password, and has sworn never to speak to me again.
My cell phone number is being held hostage through T-Mobile so I cannot take my number with me to another carrier (even if I had the money or the credit to open an account with another provider, and has promised to cut off my cell service on the last day of the contract, at midnight tonight (March 22, 2009. All this because I wanted to change my flight to Las Vegas to attend her fourth wedding to a man she met less than six months ago... but, I digress... and there I go, talking crazy again...
*RESET*
(...and now back to the original program... )
At the hospital... I refused to sign the admission papers until and unless I was given the opportunity to read the forms, process the information, and make an educated decision about the treatment I was requesting for whatever the hell was wrong with me.
Apparently this was an unreasonable request. By refusing to sign without being given the opportunity to consult with a member of my immediate family who serves both as my medical proxy and healthcare decision maker, and power of attorney, I was escorted by two security guards to the third floor where all of my personal belongings and cell phone were quickly confiscated.
Simply because I refused to sign a blank consent?
http://www.state.tn.us/mental/legalCounsel/olc.html
It was my understanding that informed consent is the standard of care for medical treatment in the United States. Furthermore, to be denied the opportunity to consult with my medical decision maker, it seems that they should have done so especially if they were planning to administer medical treatment without my consent.
My medical proxy is clearly identified in my medical records, and even listed on the back of my driver's license with a "MR / ICE" [Medical Record / In Case of Emergency.]
So, I refused to sign.
Hospital personnel did not pull my primary care records or even attempt to take a medical history report, or locate my next of kin / emergency contact.
I chose this hospital because it is conveniently located on the same medical campus as my primary care provider, radiologist, and has a contract with my insurance company as a participating (and preferred) provider.
DMHT: Declaration of Mental Health Treatment:
http://state.tn.us/mental/t33/DHMT_FORM.pdf
The Tennessee Department of Mental Health & Developmental Disabilities
developed this form based on Tennessee Code Annotated Title 33, Chapter 6, Part 10. http://www.state.tn.us/mental/
6044: DMHT and the Tennessee Code Annotated Title 33, Chapter 6, Part 10
URGENT PATIENT SAFETY ALERT: ALLIANCE FOR COMPLIANCE "Content has been removed"
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1583312/urgent_patient_safety_alert_alliance.html
I have multiple cuts, bruises, abrasions all over my body. None of my injuries, including those that occurred while being "medical treatment" at a private, for-profit medical institution, were treated or evaluated during my stay. I was given multiple injections by security personnel after being forced into "compliance" in a private room. I was left unconscious without any emergency call buttons, fire exits, or safety precaution. The security guards removed their Identification Badges when I requested to see them, of course this was before they held me face down, twisted my arms and held them forcefully behind my back while one of them pulled down the leggings I had been wearing and then my underwear.
I had a 4 day supply of medication; (out of pocket) Trazodone was covered. I was released without any medication, just there prescriptions and returned to my apartment, without my car, or any way to get to the pharmacy. The 18 day prescription the doctor gave me cost $243.19. I could only afford a 5 day supply since they hospital staff did not get the medication pre-authorized by my insurance company as promised.
Just before leaving, I asked, just as I had each time I took my meds for the 5 days I spent on the unit if they were able to locate the record for the second injection that I was given while unconscious on the plastic mat. There was no mention of them anywhere in my medical records, even when my primary care physician requested them from the Medical Records Department.
I left with at least 7 puncture wounds from 7 injections (two of which were given by security guards) were not recorded in my medical records. I was not seen by a single physician -- not even an on call physician for over 72 hours -- a small fact which does appear in my medical records, but only if you calculate the time I was "admitted" and notes from the first time I met with a physician three and a half days later. cuts and bruises and abrasions, that were not medically treated or evaluated during my stay.
When I was released 5 days later, I was need prior-authorization for medication, transport to the pharmacy and transportation to a medical appointment scheduled on Wednesday at 10am. Effexor requires prior authorization, and the pharmacy then managed to fill the prescription incorrectly and mislabeled the bottle "take two tablets two times a day for two week, then take two tablets two times a day for two weeks." Once I realized the error, I promptly called the week a copy of my medical records from the psych unit asap, and do not feel I should have to pay $2.00/page for a copy. I had to pay $54 in cash for parking, and this is all I can type for right now.
Maybe I'll write more on this later, maybe not..." -edd March 17th, 2009.
Please join me in an Alliance for Compliance to protect both individual rights, encourage medical compliance, and enhance patient safety, by letting you voice be heard.
HELP IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF CARE FOR ALL.
CLICK TO CALL: http://tools.advomatic.com/8/hcnhttp://
http://healthcareforamericanow.org/site/action_center/
Thank you all,
Elyssa
http://thepowersthatbeat.blogspot.com/
http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeGFu05xB-8
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Patient Safety Alert: How Safe Are You in a Tennessee Hospital
Please read this carefully, and sign YOUR name if you can relate to single thing I have written below. Please keep in mind that I committed myself to a complete an online project related to healthcare by March 21, 2009, and right now this is the best I can do... recognize that this article is still very much a work a progress... but I need the your help and support personally, professionally and for our brothers and sisters here and across the world who are unable to speak for themselves or access the Internet to join in my campaign for an army of one. Thanks guys... especially to those tweeters and twackers (and we know who you are!) who helped carry me through this difficult time... Thx...
PATIENT SAFETY ALERT: AN URGENT CALL TO ACTION
ALLIANCE FOR COMPLIANCE: AN URGENT CALL TO ACTION... NOW!
After refusing to sign several documents while seeking treatment at the emergency room on March 7, 2009, I found myself locked up on a 6044 hold at a local hospital in Nashville, Tennessee.
The most critical documents included a complicated consent form (informed consent for treatment) and several others regarding the assignment of benefits, insurance forms, HIPAA compliance, payment responsibility forms, and a few others.
When I requested that I be given a few minutes to read and process the legally binding agreements I was being given, they became angry and impatient.
In retrospect, I suppose it really didn't matter what I was signing, since I clearly have a good argument for diminished capacity, especially now that I have had time to reflect on the sick irony of it all.
After all, how could I be asked to sign a document accepting financial responsibility if I was clearly out of my freakin' mind?
And although one could argue diminished capacity, or no fault by reason of mental defect or disease, hind-sight is 20/20, so I assumed that I would be held to that contract much like I was held to the terms of my student loans, my car loan, the non-compete clause from my last employer, or even the Columbia music club I signed up for when I was twelve.... you know the one where they send you 12 CD’s for the price of a penny???
Yes, they all held me to the terms of my contract... either by hunting me down and harassing me endlessly over the phone; reporting adversely to the credit bureaus, sending me to collection; and even a few times to court in an attempt to collect a debt from a creditor. They all held me to the terms of my contract. So I thought I should be cautious before entering into any others...
In fact, I was in Civil Court yesterday for a being sued for a $21 balance on my water bill. Granted it has since been paid in full and the check has been cashed... but now they have added late fees, attorney fees, court costs and a bunch of other things to the complaint, so I with the addition of a late fee of $4.50, so you can expect to see me in Court again next Friday, hopefully with an attorney present if I can find one to represent me against this ridiculous claim.
Keep in mind that it will cost me $12 to park; the fact that balance has been paid in full, and for those of you who have been following along and paying attention, don't forget about the four days I went without hot water.
Add to that the 12-24 hours I spent in constant contact with the police regarding a shooting in the just below mine, clearly I must be hysterical, on drugs, or both to make repeated calls to 862-8600 non-emergency police hotline, and then escalating it by making several calls to 911. Is it any wonder that I am acting just a little bit strange?
Well, to get back to the reason I am writing without reservation today, I currently face eviction and that makes me a bit anxious... because no sooner than I could return home from the Psychiatric Unit and take a hot bath at "my" apartment, the someone showed up from the Sheriff's office to serve me with a warrant (that was written on carbon paper and modified multiple times making it difficult to read or understand what I was being charged with, when I needed to be in court, and what I needed to do to adequately defend myself.
So within hours of being medically cleared and released from a 5-day stay at "Club Head." the Sheriff shows up with eviction papers, and my mother became extremely concerned that I she might lose money if she has to change the flight... well since then she has severed the "family plan contract" and removed me a primary account holder on my cell phone contract, turned off the e-mail and text messaging feature, changed MY password, and has sworn never to speak to me again.
My cell phone number is being held hostage through T-Mobile so I cannot take my number with me to another carrier (even if I had the money or the credit to open an account with another provider, and has promised to cut off my cell service on the last day of the contract, at midnight tonight (March 22, 2009. All this because I wanted to change my flight to Las Vegas to attend her fourth wedding to a man she met less than six months ago... but, I digress... and there I go, talking crazy again...
*RESET*
(and now back to the original program...)
At the hospital... I refused to sign the admission papers until and unless I was given the opportunity to read the forms, process the information, and make an educated decision about the treatment I was requesting for whatever the hell was wrong with me.
Apparently this was an unreasonable request. By refusing to sign without being given the opportunity to consult with a member of my immediate family who serves both as my medical proxy and healthcare decision maker, and power of attorney, I was escorted by two security guards to the third floor where all of my personal belongings and cell phone were quickly confiscated.
Simply because I refused to sign a blank consent?
It was my understanding that informed consent is the standard of care for medical treatment in the United States. Furthermore, to be denied the opportunity to consult with my medical decision maker, it seems that they should have done so especially if they were planning to administer medical treatment without my consent.
My medical proxy is clearly identified in my medical records, and even listed on the back of my driver’s license with a "MR / ICE" [Medical Record / In Case of Emergency
So, I refused to sign.
Hospital personnel did not pull my primary care records or even attempt to take a medical history report, or locate my next of kin / emergency contact.
I chose this hospital because it is conveniently located on the same medical campus as my primary care provider, radiologist, and has a contract with my insurance company as a participating (and preferred) provider.
Given the fact that all of this information was readily accessible [my medical records and providers are conveniently located within the same medical facility and hospital network] I do not feel I was making an unreasonable request.
By refusing that request, I feel the hospital failed to take reasonable safety precautions that are the accepted standard of care within the medical community, and considered to be among the "best practices" identified by the state health boards, accreditation bureaus, professional licensing and certification boards.
After clearly stating my requests, and subsequent objection, I was promptly escorted upstairs by two uniformed security officers who refused to give me there name, employee ID number, show me any type of identification badge or ID number within plain sight or marked on their uniforms.
Once inside the unit, I tried to call my sister, (my medical proxy and emergency contact) to alert her that I was being at the emergency room. They listed the wrong name and MR number on my ID bracelet. I actually had two ID bracelets on with conflicting information, yet neither contained allergy information, or medical history alerts.
Security would not allow me to make a phone call and used excessive force to grab me by the arm and take the cell phone out of my hand.
I explained that I had a medical allergy, and was intolerant to Haley, and have a lesion on my thoracic spine T1-T6 with cord damage and nerve root compression concentrated at T2-T3.
The nursing staff also refused to pull my medical records or take reasonable precautions to ensure my medical or physical safety and did not make any attempt to contact my primary care provider or my sister.
In fact, they claimed that my repeated requests were not only unreasonable, but a threat to my safety and the safety of others. Really???
At that point I held on tight to my deactivated old Nokia cell phone, circa 2001, and attempted to call 911. They quickly and forcefully pulled the phone out of my hands and physically began to restrain me through the use of physical force and medical intervention.
First they grabbed my left arm. pulled the dead cell phone out of my right hand; and escorted me into a room with no windows, no call buttons, no bathroom, no fire exists or intercom, and no way to contact emergency medical or emergency personnel.
I was forced into submission by two men, for what seemed like a couple of minutes, though I can't be sure since there were no visible clocks and it was right around 2 am on the day we change the clocks for daylights savings time.
After being pushed me into the ground face and stomach against the floor, my arms were twisted behind my back.
I was then placed into a room with no emergency call buttons, intercom, bathroom, fire alarms and forcibly pushed into a plastic mattress in the corner. I must have either feel asleep or lost consciousness because I woke up several hours later in the same room, with no emergency call buttons, intercom, bathroom, fire alarms, and laying on a plastic mattress in the corner.
With my head still pushed into the plastic mat, my hands behind my back, one of them removed my black leggings and injected me with an unknown substance.
One of the men returned a few minutes later to taunt me through the observation window.
The man who injected me refused to give me his name, an employee ID number, or the name of the medication I was injected with. He told me he was "self employed" and taunted me about through the observation window. He threatened me, and laughed when I told him that I hope he remembers my face the next time he looks his own daughter in the face.
He thought this was absolutely hysterical, and was laughing uncontrollably and made physical gestures towards me and kept moving towards me despite my repeated requests that to stand two feet away from my body. He kept making rapid threatening movements towards me and removed his identification badge, from his uniform, and told me that unless I sit down he would be forced to physically restrain using whatever means he deemed necessary.
I am trained and certified in TAPS (therapeutic assault prevention) and I can assure you that there was nothing therapeutic in the way I was restrained.
Kindly take note of this complaint and I will follow up when I have better access to a computer. I was then held on 6044 [2-PC: Two Physician Commitment] involuntary from March 7 - March 13.
I have cuts, multiple bruises ,and injuries that were not treated or evaluated medically during my stay, given multiple injections, and discharged without meds. They refused to acknowledge that I have an allergy / intolerance to Haldol.
I had a 4 day supply of Geodon, Klonopin, out of pocket. Trazodone was covered. I was released without any medication, just three prescriptions and returned to my apartment, without my car, or any way to get to the pharmacy. The 18 day prescription the doctor gave me cost $243.19. I could only afford a 5 day supply since they hospital staff did not get the medication pre-authorized by my insurance company as promised.
Just before leaving, I asked, just as I had each time I took my meds for the 5 days I spent on the unit, if they were able to locate the record for the second injection that I was given while unconscious on the plastic mat.
I am waiting for my Celexa to be approved at the pharmacy, since Effexor was not covered. I have at least puncture wounds from at least 7 injections, cuts and bruises and abrasions that were not medically treated or evaluated during my stay.
In short, I need Geodon prior-authorization, med transport to pharmacy and medical transport to appt on Wednesday, 10am' Effexor prior authorization, a copy of my medical records from the psych unit ASAP, and do not feel I should have to pay $2.00/page for a copy. I had to pay $54 in cash for parking, and this is all I can type for right now. Maybe I'll write more on this later, maybe not..." Elyssa Durant, March 17th, 2009.
I have a primary care appointment scheduled for Wednesday, and must file more appeals. I have no fax machine and I am running low on gasoline. I am writing this email from my cell phone which is rather inefficient at best.
Please join me in an Alliance for Compliance to protect both individual rights, encourage medical compliance, and enhance patient safety, by letting you voice be heard.
Thank you all,
Elyssa Durant
ed70@columbia.edu
Sent via BlackBerry from T-M
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