INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — A man claims staff at a Kansas City-area hospital neglected his grandmother and that she sat in a hallway for more than five days.
“No family member should have a loved one go through that,” grandson Kevin Hopkins said.
Hopkins said while his grandmother was sitting in the hallway, she suffered a stroke and developed several bedsores.
He said the chief nursing officer with the hospital told him they were sorry, and they’ll work to do better.
The then 97-year-old Gracie Reed fell and hit her head about a week before Christmas at her nursing home. She was moving from the bed to her wheelchair.
An ambulance took Reed to Centerpoint Medical Center.
Hopkins met her there on Saturday and doctors told him the CT scan came back OK. But they wanted to admit her.
Reed has dementia and a nurse gave her medicine to calm down, according to Hopkins. He said staff sat her in a chair next to the nurse’s station to keep an eye on her.
When Hopkins came back to visit the next day, Reed was still sitting in the same chair in the hallway – and that’s where she stayed for days.
“I was shocked, she’s sitting out in a hall, nearly 98 years old,” Hopkins said.
Hopkins said despite the family pushing for a room, Reed was left in the hallway for six days.
“It’s just basic human dignity,” Hopkins said.
When family visited – they found Reed in wet clothes. He said by Thursday, Reed had four bedsores on her back, bottom and heels.
“Neglect is not OK. They can’t just assess somebody and go, we’re just going to ignore this person,” Hopkins said. “I’m angry and I want to get this message out, so it doesn’t happen to somebody else.”
While coming to visit, Hopkins found food trays stacked up, untouched.
Hopkins said Reed’s speech was slurred and the right side of her face was drooping.
Hopkins believes she suffered a stroke and said doctors didn’t run a CT scan for another day or two.
This week, Hopkins said the chief nursing officer told him they did do a CT scan that Sunday.
Hopkins said the nurse on the phone also apologized for the neglect and said they’ll work to do better.
Hopkins filed a complaint with the Missouri Department Health and Senior Services and Centerpoint.
A spokesperson for Centerpoint said they cannot comment on specific patient care, but did say, “We regularly review our processes and when there is a complaint, work to resolve concerns. We are committed to constantly improving services to meet the needs of our community.”
Hopkins believes a quicker reaction could’ve lessened the issues Reed now faces.
He said her vision is severely diminished, she can’t chew and will need a catheter for the rest of her life.
“I’m hurt, I’m angry,” Hopkins said. “I realize her age, I realize she’s not going to live forever, but what little, little quality of life and independence she had is gone.”
