A 25-year-old woman named Tashonna Ward died about an hour after leaving the emergency room.
She was facing shortness of breath and chest pain.
Ward had a chest x-ray that diagnosed her with cardiomegaly (an enlarged heart) at the hospital. Normal heartbeat was recorded. After the exam, she was sent back to the lobby and was asked to remain there until staff could give her further medical attention.
She posted on Facebook, she has been told wait for treatment and time could be between two and six hours. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Ward visited ER at Froedtert Hospital at 4:58 p.m to seek medical treatment for her symptoms.
Her family told she left the hospital at 7:35 p.m. after waiting 2½ hours. Less than an hour later, Ward collapsed and taken back to that same hospital in an ambulance. She was unresponsive when arrived at 9:07 p.m and was soon declared dead, the Sentinel reported.
“How can you triage someone with shortness of breath and chest pain, and stick them in the lobby?” Ward’s cousin, Andrea Ward, said. “Froedtert needs to change their policy.”
Ward had posted several times on Facebook when she was in the waiting room. “I really hope I’m not in this emergency room all night,” she wrote at 5:45 p.m.
“[I don’t know] what they can do about the emergency system at Froedtert but they d*mn sure need to do something,” she wrote at 7:35 p.m. “I been here since 4:30 something for shortness of breath, and chest pains for them to just say it’s a two to SIX hour wait to see a dr.”
The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office has not yet been determined the cause of death. Her family members are scheduled to meet with hospital representatives next week.
A spokesperson for Froedtert Hospital provided a statement to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “The family is in our thoughts and has our deepest sympathy. We cannot comment further at this time.”
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