JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The News4JAX I-TEAM is investigating reports of a man who spent at least five days at a bus stop after being discharged from the hospital and was left on a public bench with a broken leg.
Disclaimer: The details of this story may be disturbing.
On February 14, News4JAX reporter Vic Micolucci found 46-year-old Mohammad in a situation no one would want to be in: crying on a bus bench, with his leg broken, bruises on his face, and sitting in soiled disposable hospital pants.
“He got hit by a car a week ago, and that’s why the…his eye is swollen,” News4JAX photographer Foad Raja translated from Arabic, Mohammad’s primary language. Raja responded after talking to the man over the phone and realizing he needed help.
Mohammad said he also injured his leg in the crash.
The man had serious swelling, bruising, and open wounds on his face, raising concerns he could have a head injury from the crash.
“It looks like he has a head injury. Like, he can barely speak. I can understand him, but still, he cannot form a complete sentence,” Raja said.
While he agreed to our conversation and recording, we’ve chosen not to show his face or give his full name – because we questioned his mental state at the time – and ability to make decisions on his own.
The I-TEAM confirmed he sat on the metal bench in the elements for the better part of a week, in front of a hospital – Memorial HCA on Jacksonville’s Southside.
But what are a hospital’s responsibilities? What happens if a patient refuses treatment? Where does someone like Mohammad end up?
For the past week, News4JAX has been investigating the case, speaking with doctors, nurses, hospital administrators, and social workers to understand the situation. It started with a news tip from a viewer who attached a picture of the man and wrote:
“This man was wheeled out by two nurses and a security guard six days ago. He can’t walk. He’s been at this bus stop six days using the bathroom on his self,” she wrote.
So that afternoon, News4JAX called Memorial and drove to the area. We found Mohammad at a JTA bus stop — shivering.
“I would, I need a blanket,” Mohammad told us as he shivered, pointing to a blanket on the ground out of his reach.
His hospital band identified him as John Doe, but he quickly told us his name was Mohammad, from Morocco, with no local family and no home.
He showed us where the hospital left him a bag with water bottles, a couple of snacks , and a bus pass.
“I can’t use the bus,” he said.
Mohammad pointed out his leg and foot in a cast — underneath his dirty clothes.
As we were there Melissa Lee came by, the woman who tipped us off. She told us she’s been bringing him food and drinks, but he needs more help.
“Because that is inhumane. I wouldn’t want that to be none of my family. And I know nobody would want it to be their family. Doesn’t matter what kind of race. I know that man been out there since last Friday,” Lee said.
To be clear, we found out on Wednesday, meaning it was the 6th day, at the least. Since he’d been there, he experienced a range of weather conditions. We checked and temperatures during that span went as low as 44 degrees with a day of strong thunderstorms.
Lee, who reported the man to News4JAX, said he hadn’t moved since Friday. She said she notified hospital staff about his situation.
“No! Like, he couldn’t even…he’s been in that same spot,” she said.
When we asked how he got there, she doubled down on what she wrote in the e-mail, saying she saw him carried out by hospital staff.
“Two nurses and a security guard, and they were laughing,” she said. “Talkin’ ‘bout how they hope nobody was recording them.”
News4JAX immediately brought the concerns to Memorial’s spokesperson, who said she personally checked on the man after our first call and he refused treatment.
However, minutes later, Mohammad told us in English and Arabic that he needed “an ambulance.”
News4JAX called first responders. Jacksonville Sheriff’s Officers and and Jacksonville Fire Rescue arrived. JSO wrote a report documenting the situation. JFRD decided to transport him to another hospital’s emergency department.
“Medically, he can’t take care of himself. Literally, I can’t leave him here. I am responsible for him now. After he leaves the hospital, they need to find a place for him to go,” a JFRD Lieutenant said.
After days stuck on this bench, in front of this hospital, on that busy road — Mohammad got help.
With more questions than answers, the day after the incident, News4JAX sent a long list of questions to Memorial HCA’s spokesperson including:
- What is the policy for discharging a patient from the Emergency Department?
- What does the hospital do for people without a home?
- At any point, did the hospital notify social services from a local, state, or federal agency?
- What should staff do if they notice someone in a vulnerable situation in front of hospital property?
The hospital didn’t answer our specific questions or agree to an interview potentially because of patient confidentiality, but they sent us the following response:
“Above all else, we are committed to the care and improvement of human life. That’s our mission statement and the foundation for every interaction with every patient we serve. 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. While those cases are uncommon, they are heartbreaking. What we can ensure is that a patient has the resources and information needed to make rational decisions about their care.”
Memorial HCA spokesperson
Sources inside the hospital, who saw the interactions with the patient and spoke a condition of anonymity, believe more could have been done. One said what happened “wasn’t right.” Another told News4JAX, “human to human, this is unacceptable” adding they “hate the injustice of a human being placed in that situation.”
To better understand the resources available for someone discharged with no family, no home, and an injury, we went to the Sulzbacher Center’s president of housing, Brian Snow. The Sulzbacher is one of several social services providers in the city for people without homes or resources. We asked if there have been cases of hospitals discharging indigent patients without resources.
“We’ve encountered that at times over the over the years,” Snow said, reflecting on his 20 years of service with the nonprofit. However, he doesn’t remember a situation like this.
“Nothing like that sticks out to me that I can recall.”
Snow said the Sulzbacher Center has a “great” relationship with local hospitals.
“Ideally, what we would want is for them to communicate with us that they have a situation like this, and then we would be able to provide some type of shelter care for that individual,” Snow said.
The services include what’s called respite care, for people with special needs, who don’t have a place to go after getting out of the hospital. This can be everything from hospital-like services to assisted living.
“It really just comes down to communication and correspondence with each other,” Snow said.
So the message is the services are here?
“Yes,” Snow replied.
Snow was not aware of anyone contacting the Sulzbacher about Mohammad’s case until News4JAX did. It should be noted there are other service providers in the area.
The I-TEAM was also able to find the JSO report for Mohammad’s crash. It shows he was hit by a car crossing Beach Boulevard at Cortez Road on Feb. 7. He was cited and the driver who hit him was found to not be at fault. Publicly filed documents also show Mohammad has struggled with mental health before, making him physically and mentally vulnerable.
While rescuers took him to a different hospital the night we found him, February 14, he was transferred back to Memorial for reasons unknown, where, as of February 22, he remains in stable condition.
We’re trying to get in touch with his family in Morocco. He said he also has relatives in New York.
What should you do if you see someone in a situation like this?
First, if they’re in immediate distress, call 911.
If not, homeless services providers like Sulzbacher have care teams who check on people on the streets. They even come with medical professionals and social workers.
You can call the Sulzbacher and report someone in need at 904-359-0457.
Other trusted providers include the Trinity Rescue Mission, City Rescue Mission, Mental Health Resource Center, Changing Homelessness, and Family Promise of Jacksonville.
There are federal and state laws that address specifically how indigent people, and/or people who are unable to make decisions on their own, should be treated under the hospital’s care.
A hospital administrator from a different hospital in a different part of the state, speaking on anonymity, said hospitals should do mental capacity assessments and identify decision makers if someone is not found able to make their own health decisions. This ranges from a family member to a social worker.
Florida state statute 765 underlines health care advance directives and the hierarchy of care for someone in need.