WHEREAS, Joaquin Rivera died at Aria Health on November 28, 2009 due to a slow response from the emergency staff; and
WHEREAS, According to a December 3, 2009 article in
The Philadelphia Inquirer
and a December 3, 2009 article in
CBS Online
, the man was dead 11 minutes after checking into the hospital and it took almost 50 minutes before hospital personnel noticed that the man appeared to be dead; and
WHEREAS, A woman died in the emergency room at the same hospital in November 2007 because hospital doctors failed to respond to her condition in time; and
WHEREAS, On its website, Aria Health ensures that emergency room patients get rapid care from a staff of doctors, nurses, or other staff members who have dedicated their professional lives to providing the best in emergency medicine; and
WHEREAS, According to the CDC, in the U.S., the median time spent in the emergency department is 2.6 hours and the percent of visits with patient seen in fewer than 15 minutes is 22%; and
WHEREAS, Having more effective emergency room procedures would greatly improve the quality of healthcare offered by Philadelphia hospitals; and
WHEREAS, City Council takes this opportunity to reevaluate the emergency room procedures set forth by ARIA Health and all hospitals in the City of Philadelphia to investigate whether current emergency room protocols are being followed; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That City Council's Committee on Public Heath and Human Services hold hearings on emergency room procedures, and to investigate whether emergency room protocols were followed at the Aria Health care facility on November 28, 2009 in the incident involving Joaquin Rivera.
End