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SANTA CRUZ (KRON) — A Santa Cruz homeless advocate has posted a disturbing video on his Facebook page of what he says shows a man released from a hospital last week nearly naked and in a wheelchair.
The advocate says the man was released from Dignity Health Dominican Hospital and simply left at a bus stop.
That video has now been seen by thousands of people, and it’s raising questions about the kind of care being provided by those who need it most.
The video was taken around 1 a.m. last Thursday. It shows the program director of the Santa Cruz warming program, and over his shoulder, a man he refers to as “G.”
Brent Adams says he was asked by the sheriff’s department to bring over blankets and clothing and was appalled by what he saw when he arrived.
Adams says ‘G’ had checked himself into the hospital, but it wasn’t long, apparently, before he was rolled back outside in his wheelchair and left at that bus stop.
“They took him from a hospital bed tonight and rolled him down to a bus stop,” Adams said in the video. “The person was in complete agony. The sheriff’s office called us to get some warm clothing. The person is in a hospital smock. No undergarments. I’m pretty appalled. I’m not sure why a hospital would release a person who’s in a wheelchair and hospital smock and leave them in a bus stop, especially since there is no bus running.”
Adams says the local shelter was no longer taking anyone in for the night and the warming center wasn’t open.
Dominican Hospital says it can’t comment specifically because of privacy laws, but in a statement, a spokesperson says in part, “Every situation is different and patients in our emergency room are offered food, clothing, and access to transportation and housing resources if needed. Additionally, Dominican Hospital works with several organizations in the community to provide resources for those in need.”
But they don’t explain why the man was left outside.
There was a similar incident recently in Baltimore outside the Maryland Medical Center, where a disoriented woman in a thin hospital gown was also left outside by hospital staffers overnight.
The weather that night was in the 30s.
in both cases, the people recording the video said they wanted to let people know that this is happening.