Oswego Hospital
/ Jim Kenyon
OSWEGO -- Oswego Hospital confirmed to CNY Central that it is investigating an allegation that it may have improperly treated a patient suffering from a stroke.
Monday morning, Oswego Hospital spokesperson Marion Ciciarelli said, "Because we’re in the middle of an investigation I don’t have a comment."
Courtney Nemecek tells Jim Kenyon that on March 23, her 72-year-old grandfather Paul Brown was discovered by staff at the La Siesta Motel in Mexico suffering from an apparent stroke. She says motel management called McFee Ambulance Service, which transported him to Oswego Hospital.
According to Nemecek, the staff at the emergency room observed Brown for several hours and sent him back to the motel by taxi wearing nothing but a hospital gown. He reportedly had his belongings in a bag and a prescription in hand.
Nemecek claims the taxi driver removed her grandfather from the cab and left him in the parking lot of the motel. At that point she says the motel manager drove Brown in his personal car back to McFee Ambulance, where he was then transported to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Syracuse.
Nemecek says St. Joseph’s diagnosed her grandfather as suffering from a stroke.
The manager of the La Siesta Motel, Vince Mariwalla said, "It's horrible. He's a nice gentleman. He shouldn't be treated that way, like an animal. Drop him off on the road and leave him?"
Nemecek says her grandfather was treated at St. Joe’s for several days, and is now undergoing rehabilitation at a nursing facility in Oswego. She says he is suffering from "partial paralysis" on his left side, and has difficulty remembering the incident.
Nemecek says her family is considering legal action against Oswego Hospital and Fulton Taxi, the company they believe transported her grandfather. The family would also like an outside agency to investigate the way her grandfather was treated.
The manager of Fulton Taxi, Judy Avery says the company "has no records of this transport," She says Brown may have been confused because Fulton Taxi had transported him in the past for medical conditions. She added that there are other companies that provide medical transports. Avery said "Our job is to transport them home, we're not allowed to do much more than drop them off."
