What I am about to tell you is more than about my access to health care. As a homeless man, you will learn about access to being treated like a human being. I mean, how are you going to get health care when you can’t even get humane care?

This started when I was a resident at 2100 Lakeside, a homeless shelter for men I was on the bed of a top bunk when I somehow fell off the bed hitting a hard floor. Suddenly, I couldn’t help myself up. I couldn’t walk. They called 911, an ambulance arrived and I was taken to St. Vincent Charity Hospital. Note the word “Charity” in the name. 

Immediately upon my arrival, while they ask for ID and hospitalization cards, quickly they understood where I came from-that I was homeless. So instead of any hospital gown or like protocol, I was quickly ushered into an x-ray, clothing and all. 

Their diagnosis was that I had a bruised hip. They gave me 800 mg of ibuprofen before proceeding to put me into a wheelchair, taking me out to East 22nd and dumping me onto the concrete sidewalk. Unable to walk, I laid there for about 30 minutes. 

A security officer from the hospital found me, asked me why I was lying there to which I responded that I could not walk. He called 911 and another ambulance came This time the driver specifically said, “I’ll take care of you.” Only he took me again to St. Vincent Charity. 

As soon as I arrived, the same lady asked, “Why is he back here?” The ambulance driver replied that since I couldn’t walk I obviously needed help.

After the ambulance left, I was again placed into a wheelchair and again literally dumped out just off their property. It was 3:30 a.m. and I laid there until 8:30 a.m. 

My savior was my sister who works for the Cleveland Clinic. She took me to Fairview General where they immediately put me into a hospital gown, gave me a shot of demerol for the pain I was in, took an x-ray, figured out something was wrong and followed with an MRI. I had a 7 inch crack in my pelvis which took 5 weeks to heal.

Upon learning of my history the last 24 hours, they called St. Vincent Charity Hospital to let them know how they failed me to which they were told that this would be investigated.