One of our rounding doctors was talking about this story earlier this week. I had to look it up when I got home because I couldn't believe it. This little boy had open sores, was not eating or drinking & was advised to go to the hospital by school nurses. The dad brought him to the ER but refused to let a doctor see him. Have you ever heard of a nurse writing out instructions on a doctor's prescription pad? That's what happened next. Then the boy and dad left, no assessment, no visit was ever recorded on the medical record.

The boy continued to decline, didn't come back to school, social services was notified and made a visit to the house. SS called an ambulance when they saw the boy. The boy was admitted to a different hospital for several days due to severe malnutrition, starvation, bedsores and uncontrolled seizures.

My heart aches for this poor boy and his suffering. Could it have been avoided if the nurse in the ER just called the cops during that first visit? Noticing something was not right?

Further updates in the news state "Minnesota Department of Health investigators say the Lake City Medical Center has corrected its procedures after a starving disabled boy was wrongfully sent home from the hospital's emergency room in March". Nurse received counseling. End of story.

http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/health/96573529.html?page=1&c=y

page 2 ...."School nurses examined the boy on March 1 and 2 after he was absent for a week. They saw several open lesions on his back and noted he could not walk or feed himself and lay on a school cot in the fetal position. They contacted the parents both days and urged that he see a doctor. After the boy missed school on March 3, the school notified county social service officials of the boy's "urgent need for medical care."

Social service and law enforcement officials told the family to take the boy to an emergency room as soon as possible. The father took the boy to Lake City Medical Center that evening. He told the nurse that he didn't want his son examined by a doctor but wanted a note saying his son could return to school".

On a prescription pad, the nurse wrote that the boy was "vitally stable and there is no emergent/urgent need that needs our attention."




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