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Hospital's decision to send quadriplegic man back to Mexico angers those in Chicago who cared for him

 

For almost four months, doctors and nurses at Advocate Christ Medical Center cared for the young Mexican laborer who had fallen from a roof and lost the ability to speak, breathe or move most parts of his body.

 

But Quelino Ojeda Jimenez was in the U.S. illegally, and just before Christmas he was taken from the Oak Lawn hospital, loaded on an air ambulance and flown to Oaxaca, capital of the Mexican state where he was born.

 

"They threw him out like he was a piece of garbage," said Horacio Esparza, a disability rights advocate who runs the Progress Center for Independent Living in Forest Park.

 

Advocate Christ spent about $650,000 on Ojeda's medical care and another $60,000 to transport him to Mexico after several private long-term care facilities refused to take the young man as a patient, Golson said.

 

"We saved his life and brought him to a stable condition," but when it became clear that Ojeda needed a lifetime of care, it seemed best to return him close to family, she said.

 

Thoughts?

 

Full Article

 

Hospital's decision to send quadriplegic man back to Mexico angers those in Chicago who cared for him

 

For almost four months, doctors and nurses at Advocate Christ Medical Center cared for the young Mexican laborer who had fallen from a roof and lost the ability to speak, breathe or move most parts of his body.

 

But Quelino Ojeda Jimenez was in the U.S. illegally, and just before Christmas he was taken from the Oak Lawn hospital, loaded on an air ambulance and flown to Oaxaca, capital of the Mexican state where he was born.

 

"They threw him out like he was a piece of garbage," said Horacio Esparza, a disability rights advocate who runs the Progress Center for Independent Living in Forest Park.

 

Advocate Christ spent about $650,000 on Ojeda's medical care and another $60,000 to transport him to Mexico after several private long-term care facilities refused to take the young man as a patient, Golson said.

 

"We saved his life and brought him to a stable condition," but when it became clear that Ojeda needed a lifetime of care, it seemed best to return him close to family, she said.

Seems like they did quite a lot for him. Certainly on a personal level I feel badly for his situation, but I also think this was the best way to handle it. They spent gobs of money and time to get him stable, and then sent him home. I think the advocate's statement that he was treated like garbage is absurd.

 

He's here illegally, he broke the law and gambled, and he lost. That loss should not be extended to the rest of the country. He is owed nothing, but received a lot.

 

Seems like they did quite a lot for him. Certainly on a personal level I feel badly for his situation, but I also think this was the best way to handle it. They spent gobs of money and time to get him stable, and then sent him home. I think the advocate's statement that he was treated like garbage is absurd.

 

He's here illegally, he broke the law and gambled, and he lost. That loss should not be extended to the rest of the country. He is owed nothing, but received a lot.

 

Well said, I agree.

Just out of curiosity...did he fall and become injured while on the job?

Seems like they did quite a lot for him. Certainly on a personal level I feel badly for his situation, but I also think this was the best way to handle it. They spent gobs of money and time to get him stable, and then sent him home. I think the advocate's statement that he was treated like garbage is absurd.

 

He's here illegally, he broke the law and gambled, and he lost. That loss should not be extended to the rest of the country. He is owed nothing, but received a lot.

Yeah pretty much. They saved his life. People get caught up in issues sometimes and forget that they don't actually have a right to be here or any rights as a citizen. Other people get caught up arguing against that and forget that they're people with human rights. Sucks to be him, but hey, you could've died...

Yeah pretty much. They saved his life. People get caught up in issues sometimes and forget that they don't actually have a right to be here or any rights as a citizen. Other people get caught up arguing against that and forget that they're people with human rights. Sucks to be him, but hey, you could've died...

 

OT: Why don't you get out of this thread and go defend Aaron Rodgers some more?

 

I think we showed that despite all of the BS we hear, our medical community went above and beyond, knowing that he'd never be paying a dime.

OT: Why don't you get out of this thread and go defend Aaron Rodgers some more?

 

I think we showed that despite all of the BS we hear, our medical community went above and beyond, knowing that he'd never be paying a dime.

I kind of felt like I was raping myself. Abused and violated.

 

I think the medical community has some kind of ethical obligation to treat people in those kinds of situations don't they? Pretty sure in places like Texas and California this happens all the time.

Seems like they did quite a lot for him. Certainly on a personal level I feel badly for his situation, but I also think this was the best way to handle it. They spent gobs of money and time to get him stable, and then sent him home. I think the advocate's statement that he was treated like garbage is absurd.

 

He's here illegally, he broke the law and gambled, and he lost. That loss should not be extended to the rest of the country. He is owed nothing, but received a lot.

My thoughts exactly.

I kind of felt like I was raping myself. Abused and violated.

 

I think the medical community has some kind of ethical obligation to treat people in those kinds of situations don't they? Pretty sure in places like Texas and California this happens all the time.

At least in California, a lot of places like hospitals (and the police) are forbidden to inquire about immigration status, because otherwise, immigrants who actually need to go to the hospital or to the police just avoid them.

Where and the hell was this guy going to go? Was he going to live at the hospital for the rest of his life?

 

I am sure Christ Advocate would have been happy to pay the $500 bill to transport him to Park Forest instead of the $60,000 to move him closer to his family.

 

 

Just out of curiosity...did he fall and become injured while on the job?

If so, I'd suggest the hospital sue the company that had hired him. If you set up the laws such that people who employ illegals end up on the hook for their workplace costs in any form, that should help deter future employment of this type.

 

If so, I'd suggest the hospital sue the company that had hired him. If you set up the laws such that people who employ illegals end up on the hook for their workplace costs in any form, that should help deter future employment of this type.

Then who pays to keep him in this country and alive if the case takes years to wind its way through courts/appeals?

Then who pays to keep him in this country and alive if the case takes years to wind its way through courts/appeals?

Who says you keep him in the country?

 

Who says you keep him in the country?

The fact that if the guy is deported and dies in the Mexican health care system there's no case?

The fact that if the guy is deported and dies in the Mexican health care system there's no case?

Why would there be no case? I think you are missing my point here. I feel the laws should be written on this to turn pretty much all these costs around on the employer. I fail to see what his status in Mexico would have to do with that.

 

Why would there be no case? I think you are missing my point here. I feel the laws should be written on this to turn pretty much all these costs around on the employer. I fail to see what his status in Mexico would have to do with that.

Without the worker to testify that he was on the job at the time the injury occurred, there's no case, that seems plain to me.

Without the worker to testify that he was on the job at the time the injury occurred, there's no case, that seems plain to me.

 

Yeah wrongful death cases are a real b**** to work because of this

Edited February 7, 201115 yr by Jenksismybitch

Without the worker to testify that he was on the job at the time the injury occurred, there's no case, that seems plain to me.

Doesn't to me. Makes it harder, doesn't make it no case. And if the law was written a bit differently, as I am suggesting it should be, it could be easier.

 

If so, I'd suggest the hospital sue the company that had hired him. If you set up the laws such that people who employ illegals end up on the hook for their workplace costs in any form, that should help deter future employment of this type.

 

First, yes the article says he was a roofer.

 

Second, the bills should be paid by emergency medicaid and the company that employed him went bankrupt, so there won't be a lawsuit. You paid for it.

 

The larger point here is that the hospital made a unilateral deportation decision and litterally flew him out of the country. That should not be legal. In circumstances like this, an immigration judge may find that he needs to stay in the US in order to receive proper treatment for his injuries. I don't know how rare such a determination is (probably pretty rare), but it is the proper method of handling the situation.

First, yes the article says he was a roofer.

 

Second, the bills should be paid by emergency medicaid and the company that employed him went bankrupt, so there won't be a lawsuit. You paid for it.

 

The larger point here is that the hospital made a unilateral deportation decision and litterally flew him out of the country. That should not be legal. In circumstances like this, an immigration judge may find that he needs to stay in the US in order to receive proper treatment for his injuries. I don't know how rare such a determination is (probably pretty rare), but it is the proper method of handling the situation.

 

But he DID receive proper treatment for his injuries, without a judge having to mandate it, which is the point here. It's not like this hospital, which you're trying to make sound like a villain, "unilaterally" deported him without treatment.

 

I think you are way off base on this, and you make it sound like they 1) didn't treat him at all or outright treated him bad, and 2) made a rash decision to deport him instead of helping when neither happened. He WAS treated, for free, and THEN sent home.

 

For almost four months, doctors and nurses at Advocate Christ Medical Center cared for the young Mexican laborer who had fallen from a roof and lost the ability to speak, breathe or move most parts of his body.

 

They not only treated him, they did so for FOUR months.

Edited February 8, 201115 yr by Y2HH

But he DID receive proper treatment for his injuries, without a judge having to mandate it, which is sort of the point here. It's not like this hospital, which you're trying to make sound like a villain, "unilaterally" deported him without treatment.

 

I think you are way off base on this, and you make it sound like they 1) didn't treat him at all or outright treated him bad, and 2) made a rash decision to deport him instead of helping

 

Neither happened. He WAS treated, for free, and THEN sent home.

 

1. I never said anything about their treatment. They did what they could do.

2. Actually they kinda did make a rash decision. They admit in the article that they didn't follow any procedure and never informed the patient. I never minimized the help they provided.

 

Every hospital should have done the same to treat the patient. What I said is that a hospital does not have the power to deport an illegal immigrant. That is the power of the federal government and they must make the determination based on the facts of the individual. In some situations illegals will not be deported for humanitarian reasons. All I said is that a hospital cannot make that call since they did not and cannot perform a proper investigation.

 

And don't make it sound like they just "sent him home" like he lives down the street.

1. I never said anything about their treatment. They did what they could do.

2. Actually they kinda did make a rash decision. They admit in the article that they didn't follow any procedure and never informed the patient. I never minimized the help they provided.

 

Every hospital should have done the same to treat the patient. What I said is that a hospital does not have the power to deport an illegal immigrant. That is the power of the federal government and they must make the determination based on the facts of the individual. In some situations illegals will not be deported for humanitarian reasons. All I said is that a hospital cannot make that call since they did not and cannot perform a proper investigation.

 

And don't make it sound like they just "sent him home" like he lives down the street.

 

I don't care WHERE he lives, he's here illegally. And the federal government shouldn't have taken 4 f***ing months to do something, either.

Edited February 8, 201115 yr by Y2HH

1. I never said anything about their treatment. They did what they could do.

2. Actually they kinda did make a rash decision. They admit in the article that they didn't follow any procedure and never informed the patient. I never minimized the help they provided.

 

Every hospital should have done the same to treat the patient. What I said is that a hospital does not have the power to deport an illegal immigrant. That is the power of the federal government and they must make the determination based on the facts of the individual. In some situations illegals will not be deported for humanitarian reasons. All I said is that a hospital cannot make that call since they did not and cannot perform a proper investigation.

 

And don't make it sound like they just "sent him home" like he lives down the street.

That is a good point, about them doing the deportation. But it does cause a different issue, if they don't deport him. Do they turn him out on the street? That would be worse for all involved. And let's be honest, ICE may have taken months or years to ever get to handling this. So the hospital was in a no-win situation.

 

Its a corner case, but it does expose a problem that should be addressed in the law with more clarity.

 

That is a good point, about them doing the deportation. But it does cause a different issue, if they don't deport him. Do they turn him out on the street? That would be worse for all involved. And let's be honest, ICE may have taken months or years to ever get to handling this. So the hospital was in a no-win situation.

 

Its a corner case, but it does expose a problem that should be addressed in the law with more clarity.

 

Well my response would be that he was there for 4 months so I'm sure ICE could have made a determination. But that only works in this case.

 

I don't want my argument to be pigeon holed into "G&T thinks the result was wrong". That's not the case at all. He probably should be in Mexico, but the process concerns me. If he is abused at home or faces persecution and he is sent to Mexico to an uncertain future for non-medical reasons, whose decision was that? A hospital with no experience making those determinations?

 

Of course, the problem is probably even deeper. I don't know that the hospital can inform the government of immigration status, and, perhaps, we don't want them to be informed. In NY, emergency medicaid forms do not ask for status, and those are the only documents that the government would see to provide payment. So it becomse a case of line drawing. When does the government need to know? Are we detering illegals from seeking medical treatment?

 

I agree with SS. He received treatment that saved his life and made it possible to transport him. He was going to die in someone's health care system, returning him to his home, I believe, is a sound, ethical, and moral decision.