A Hospital Ordeal For Elderly Woman

By Charmaine Gooden

There is still a sense of shock and outrage about a senior who collapsed at the Greater Niagara General Hospital and had to wait while staff called for ambulance paramedics to help her, despite being just steps away from the emergency operating room that could have been of immediate assistance. The incident only serves to highlight some of the troubling realities in our health care system. According to reports, Doreen Wallace, an 82-year-old Walmart greeter, was at the Greater Niagara General Hospital, visiting her husband, Jim Wallace, who was suffering from emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. She tripped and fell in the entrance way, injuring her hip, but instead of getting help quickly and administering first aid, staff insisted she would have to wait for ambulance paramedics to arrive and help her, despite being steps from the emergency operating room. It took almost half an hour for paramedics to arrive as she lay on the floor bleeding. Finally she was given treatment. The hospital CEO has apologized and says a major review of what happened is underway. Sadly, it is reported that Mr. Wallace died two days after his wife fall.