Oregon Man Dies Outside of ER After Delay in Treatment
Police treating man told to radio for ambulance despite being near ER.
Feb. 11, 2011 — -- A Portland, Ore., man died in the parking lot of a hospital Thursday after confusion between hospital personnel and police led to a delay in the man's receiving treatment, officials said.
Birgilio Marin-Fuentes, 61, was feeling ill and drove himself to Portland Adventist Medical Center after midnight Thursday.
He told his wife, "I have a lot of coughs so I'm going to go to the hospital and I'll be back later," Claudia Luis Garcia told ABC Affiliate KATU through her daughter, acting as a Spanish interpreter.
Marin-Fuentes crashed his car into a light pole in the hospital's parking lot under a sign that said "Emergency Vehicles Only." He was 125 feet from the entrance to the emergency room.
Four Portland police officers in the area tended to Marin-Fuentes after a bystander alerted them to the crash, officials said.
Two officers began administering CPR to the unconscious man while two other police officers went into the emergency room to alert hospital staff about the accident. Police said that they were told by ER staff that they needed to call 911 for an ambulance.
"You know, there's a good reason for it, I'm sure," Portland Police Lt. Kellie Sheffer told KATU. "Does it help in the heat of the moment when there's high emotion and high frustration? No, it's difficult."
Police officer Andrew Hearst radioed dispatch, saying, "Hospital says they won't come out, we need to contact AMR [American Medical Response] first."
The officers continued performing CPR until an ambulance arrived. Marin-Fuentes was put on a gurney and wheeled 125 feet into the ER more than 10 minutes after police first responded to the unconscious man, officials said.
At 1:22 a.m., 35 minutes after a Portland police officer first radioed dispatch, Marin-Fuentes was pronounced dead from a heart attack.
Officials from the Portland Adventist Medical Center said that the police misunderstood the hospital's policy.
"We do not have a policy against responding to emergencies in our parking lot," hospital spokeswoman Judy Leach said in a statement. "In fact, we always call 911 and send our own staff into these situations whether they are gunshot wounds, heart attacks or any other medical emergency."
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