JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The News4JAX I-TEAM has learned a man is recovering after being left at a Jacksonville bus stop for at least six days as his friends and local community gather to help him.
The I-TEAM found Mohammad on February 14, what was believed to be his sixth day of being alone at the bus stop. He was swollen, crying, dirty, and had a broken leg and broken fingers, and was wearing paper hospital pants.
News4JAX photojournalist Foad Raja, who speaks Arabic like Mohammad, found out what happened to him. He was hit by a car, went to Memorial HCA Hospital, then was discharged and left at a bus stop bench with a bus pass and no way to get on it.
Melissa Lee noticed Mohammad and contacted the I-TEAM out of concern for his safety.
Some called it a case of “patient dumping” of a man with no home and no insurance, although a spokesperson from Memorial HCA said otherwise.
“Even with our best and most compassionate efforts, there may be times when a patient declines treatment. There may also be times when a patient declines our help coordinating follow-up care or placement and transportation to a shelter,” a Memorial HCA spokesperson said.
The I-TEAM called the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department and they admitted him back to the hospital where he’d spent weeks and underwent two surgeries on his leg and his hand.
Mohammad’s story went worldwide with more than 120,000 views and nearly 2,000 comments on YouTube. People expressed outrage and concern.
At the same time, Jacksonville’s Moroccan community stepped in to help Mohammad and his friend, Samir Mostafa said it’s been overwhelming as over 100 people visited him in the hospital.
“Yes, even the hospital, Memorial said they have never seen someone visited like this before,” Mostafa said.
Mostafa, who’s been chosen to make decisions about Mohammad’s care said someone visits him every day while he’s recovering, and he’s making great strides. He’s even able to call his family in Morocco as he talks to his mom and siblings daily.
“All of his family is grateful for the help. From [The I-TEAM], from the hospital and we still need help to put him in a good place to recover,” Mostafa said.
He added that Mohammad’s darkest hour became a way for him to get some help.
Mohammad has been treated at Memorial, Brooks Rehab, and is now at an assisted living facility where he’s being treated for schizophrenia. He developed the condition since moving to the United States with a green card and dreams of sending money to his family back home in Africa.
The condition left untreated left him homeless.
A member of the Moroccan consulate flew to Jacksonville to get him his passport, social services, and more resources.
“Maybe he can go back to see his family since he came, he hasn’t seen them for 24 years,” Mostafa said.
His friends said the videos from the night the I-TEAM found him are difficult to watch, but they’re happy to see him get better every day.
“Hard to watch, yes. But now, when I go to see him, he is much better,” Mostafa said.
There are still many questions about the treatment he got at the hospital, whether he should have been able to make decisions about his care on his own with his mental health condition, and who’s paying for his follow-up care.
The hospital hasn’t responded since its initial statement and said, “We have nothing to add”,” but Mohammad’s friends said HCA has been covering his bills since the I-TEAM intervened, and they are grateful for that.