discrimination at sparrow hospital

[joey pavia]

hello. my name is joey pavia. i hope that you are doing well. i am not. i am trying to file a complaint against sparrow hospital. over neglect and non-compliance of hospital and federal rules. i am homeless and insurance less. i have a pacemaker, diabetes#2, ulcers and sleep apnea. unfortunately, i have been to sparrow too many times. i have chronic chest pains. i have had a heart attack in the past. however, due to the fact that i am homeless and without insurance, i have received very shoddy at best, care. i have had a few dr's. and nurses, right to my face, tell me that they do not like homeless bums. nice. is this standard practice? just wondering. anyway, i have tried to go through service excellence. you know, the people that are supposed to be helping me. they seem to champion the rights of the dr's instead. i believe with all of my heart that sparrow emergency room dr's are discriminating against me and other based on the fact that we are homeless and without insurance. as i write this little letter, i am in a number 5-6 pain. the last time i was there, the emergency room dr. had me admitted. with the speculation on my part that i would be run through some tests and figure this thing out. how wrong i was. i was discharged the next day. 1:00pm or so. no tests. no natta. zilch. is this standard procedure to be discharged with no tests be done and with a #5 pain in my chest? just wondering. i am blackballed at sparrow for being homeless, without insurance and a man who speaks up when he is being wronged. is this standard procedure? just wondering. should i just live in pain? should i just die on the street because several emergency room dr's have decided that i am not worth the time and effort? please advise me as to what i should do. do not just tell me to come up to the emergency room if i have a pain problem. i am not in the habit of allowing quack dr's to humiliate me. i think you can understand that. am i wrong or is it just my imagination that a person with a home, job and insurance would not be treated like the sad way that i am because i am homeless, without insurance and i want to be cured. the last time that i was in the hospital. you are going to love this one. this is one of my favorites. i have it saved along with everything. anyway, the last time that i was in sparrow, they did an ekg on me. they said that it looked fine. like i was supposed to take that as a way of saying that i was fine. however, i know that a clear, clean and good looking ekg does not mean that everything is alright. by the way, did i tell you that i do my homework? then one of sparrow's finest told me that based on the report from the last time that i was there, when everything "looked" okay, that i was fine now. WHATTTT? okay, i am okay now..just a little winded from falling on the floor laughing. so to go with this persons theory, am i wrong to assume this? if i had a heart attack the last time that i was there and now i come in again 2 months later with chest pains, then without tests or any work-up, based on my heart attack of 2 months prior, then it is safe to assume that i am having a heart attack now? WHATTTT? so please respond to me. let me know what to do before i die. thank you so much. joey pavia.
[e-mail] i lived at the rescue mission down the street on michigan ave. i am 52 years old.

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[NJS]

Hi Joey. I am sorry to hear about your ongoing problems. Did Sparrow do a stress test on any of your admissions? When a patient is admitted with chest pain, the doctors rely on your lab tests, EKG, and stress test results to determine whether you are having/have recently had a heart attack or not.

If the stress test shows something abnormal, they should do a cardiac catheterization to see if you have any blockages in your heart vessels. If they do find some blocked heart arteries, they may open them up and place some stents in there to keep them open.

However, if your labs, EKG, and stress test look clean, the doctors may deduct that the problem is not your heart, but likely something else. The two biggest non-cardiac causes of chest pain are 1) musculoskeletal, for which doctors usually prescribe some sort of pain killer and anti-inflammatory, such as Motrin; and 2) gastrointestinal, such as heartburn or gallbladder problems. For either non-cardiac cause, the hospital usually discharges you with instructions to follow up with your primary care doctor, because those conditions are usually chronic and not life-threatening, and your primary care doctor would do a better job treating you for chronic conditions.

There are a couple of primary care clinics in Lansing that serve patients with no insurance. The best suggestion I can give you is to start seeing a primary care physician (PCP). When you are admitted to the ER on the advice of your PCP, the hospital staff pays a little more attention. A PCP may also be able to treat you more effectively than the hospital can for non-cardiac chest pain, with less hassle for you.

Here are some clinics that see patients with little or no insurance:

East Michigan Family Care
2310 E. Michigan Avenue
Lansing MI 48912

East Michigan Family Care Clinic II
4415 North Grand River Ave
Lansing Michigan 48906

Care Free Medical
5135 S. Pennsylvania
Lansing, MI 48911

(This forum won't allow the posting of phone numbers, but you can find the clinic numbers on the internet)

[Charlie]

Hey Joey, Did you ever think that maybe you are a leech and shouldn't be wasting the doctors time over symptoms that are most likely in your head? It's people like you that mooch off the system and drive up the cost of medical insurance for people that actually work for living. Go waste your time at the free clinics where do gooders and bleeding hearts are just waiting to give you the TLC that you feel you deserve. Get off the system and get a job, doing something to pay for your existence.

[Ruth]

Sparrow ER is a joke
Do yourself a favor, go someplace else

[Bad Care]

He's right. People with insurance get tests that they absolutely do not need. People with no insurance get blown off, unless they have cash.

Anyone who gets Medicaid or Medicare should report shoddy treatment just as they would if they had insurance from Cobra or employment based insurance. Those services are being paid for and you have a right to the same services anyone else is entitled to, and you have a right to be treated with respect regardless of whether you live in a mansion or a cardboard box.

If it's a charity or a nonprofit providing the care then the BBB should be informed and also the state. Non-profits are held to certain standards in order to obtain tax exempt status.

It's not unheard of for the indigent to be billed for tests never performed. Medical billing fraud is a very popular crime and happens in "respected" establishments as often as it does fly-by-night clinics. If I were in this situation, I would get a copy of my medical records. Fraud is a crime.

[dude]

Last time I was at sparrow ER I had to sit and listen to some nurse whore go on and on ripping on her friends and fellow coworkers with some male doctor she was clearly trying to get laid by. He had a ring on his finger but planning to go home with this nurse. I heard it all...and I was in the pediatric area!! It says a lot by about the quality of people there. Girl had short light brown hair and flat chested.

[ohhh]

ObamaCare. Remember all the pages not read? This is part of it. Get rid of the sick people-- they are bogging down my (obama) government money?

[Lief Coach]

ohhh wrote:

ObamaCare. Remember all the pages not read? This is part of it. Get rid of the sick people-- they are bogging down my (obama) government money?

Dipshit, look at the date this was posted.

[ohhh]

Maybe you should.

[ohhh]

Look-- I'm not saying this person doesn't need help. But there's only so much to work with now. I want this person to get the help they need. I would want that too, as you also. This is part of obamacare-- old people are at risk along with anyone sick.....

[my husband is being held]

against our will.."false imprisiument".... trying to get help getting him out. have called a lawyer. we need help.

[smokingapplies]

Hello Joey. The hospital was wrong! They need an attitude adjustment! They also, need to learn how to respect others, be honest and so on. Being honest has everything to do with day to day business. This includes even while on the phone conducting business.
Have you applied for SSI? Your heart condition with (heart attacks) will get you SSI. Hope you have all proof, speak to someone whom works in the legal field. And if any other medical conditions you may have. Ask for help, to do this. You will have your MI Health card and get a real health insurance plan. Get a plan that has no co-pays. Don't pay any attention to those on here whom feel they need to treat you with no respect. Everyone deserves respect no matter what their situation may be. This includes you!
You however, do need all your medications for your heart condition. You should never go without these medications! Demad these are given to you! You have these rights!
Sorry, that you have no home! Wish there was something I myself could do for you. I wish I was able to provide many things to those in need.
I am disabiled myself and can barely make it each month. The price of fuel, and to go to appointments alone are very costly. It cost everyone whom knows the current situations of day to day living. Even the cost of food, utilities, water and so on.
Remember, this-We are all much stronger than what we think we are! Please, get off the streets, this is very dangerous. Hang in there!

[smokingapplies]

my husband is being held wrote:

against our will.."false imprisiument".... trying to get help getting him out. have called a lawyer. we need help.

Sounds like you need to go on one of the local news channels. And demand answers to your situation! I bet this would get some serious actions going if you did this! Has this attorney called you back? Is there any progress or is (he/she) lacking communications? Don't wait for calls, from a slow poke. You should get results ASAP if in person! Don't allow excuses...this means they don't care. Contact the Attorney Generals
office as soon as possible. Tell them what happened and whom to contact now. Best of luck!

[my husband is being held]

I got a lawyer! shes good things are happening!.. hope to get him home soon.