Bristol woman dies while being kicked out of area hospital
BLOUNTSTOWN - A Bristol woman died Monday morning after being arrested and forcibly removed by police from the Calhoun Liberty Hospital where she had gone seeking treatment.
Relatives said 57-year-old Barbara Dawson was possibly mistreated by police and by the hospital staff, who they say refused to provide proper medical care.
The Tallahassee law firm Parks and Crump is representing Dawson's family and plans to file a lawsuit against the hospital, the Blountstown Police Department, or both. The local NAACP chapter held an emergency meeting on the matter Tuesday afternoon.
On Sunday evening, Dawson complained of stomach pain and was rushed to the hospital by ambulance.
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Blountstown Police Chief Mark Mallory said Dawson was admitted to the hospital about 10:30 p.m. Hours later, she was discharged after being treated and cleared by hospital staff.
Dawson, however, felt she needed to remain at the hospital for continued care and told the medical staff she "still was not feeling well," relatives said. The family said the nursing staff then "banned" her from the hospital.
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After Dawson refused to leave the facility, hospital staff called police about 4:45 a.m. Monday.
"She was causing a disturbance in the hospital with her language and the volume of her voice," Mallory said.
The officer was polite to Dawson, Mallory said, and told her she was free to get medical care, but she had to seek treatment elsewhere. She was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and trespassing, handcuffed and escorted out of the hospital.
Relatives reported Dawson requested hospital staff return her oxygen tank because she was having difficulty breathing. However, they said a nurse told Dawson she was breathing fine and did not need it.
While outside, relatives said Dawson again "pleaded for her oxygen" and told the officer not to take her to jail.
As the officer unlocked the door to his patrol car, Dawson collapsed on the ground. The officer then uncuffed her and summoned medical attention, Mallory said. Hospital staff checked her pulse, oxygen and vital signs three times and told the officer she was fine. However, a doctor readmitted her inside the hospital. Three to four staff members placed Dawson, who Mallory estimates weighs more than 270 pounds, onto a gurney.
As they wheeled her into the hospital, Dawson still had a pulse, Mallory said. But by 6:24 a.m., less than two hours later, she was dead. An autopsy was scheduled for Tuesday and the police department has launched an investigation.
Relatives dispute the police's version of events. Her aunt Angela Donar was at the scene that night. She said a doctor couldn’t detect a pulse from her niece before she was taken into the hospital.
Relatives also said hospital staff did not attempt CPR until Dawson was back inside the hospital. Photos of the scene taken by a family member show Dawson sitting on the ground and leaning against the police car surrounded by hospital staff and the police officer.
Hospital officials said staff members tried to save Dawson.
"They did their best trying to save her,” said Ruth Attaway, administrator and CEO of the 25-bed hospital. “Our staff was very aggressive with her treatment. They did everything they could.”
Attaway said Dawson had visited the hospital many times in the past. It wasn't the first time there was conflict between Dawson and hospital staff, relatives said. The hospital had called the police on her numerous times and once ordered her off the property when she brought a friend in for treatment, Donar said.
“If they bring her some medicine, she wants to know what it is, what it is for. They just get mad at her,” Donar said. “If she don’t think it’s right, she’s going to tell them and they don’t like that.”
Relatives said Dawson had a long history of breathing problems. She had visited Tallahassee hospitals 22 times since 1987 and had been in and out of other Florida hospitals.
Darryl Parks said his firm will start its own investigation. He did not know what type of lawsuit they plan to file. Parks and Crump has represented black families in other high-profile cases such as the shooting deaths of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown.
Parks said he was “very concerned” about the conduct of hospital staff and the police department. Once law enforcement got involved, he said, medical personnel and the officer did not take proper precautions given Dawson’s medical condition.
“Even the early facts should cause grave concern for her family,” he said, “but also grave concern for the public.”
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Contact Sean Rossman at srossman@tallahassee.com and Karl Etters at Ketters@tallahassee.com.
What’s coming?
The Blountstown Police Department is awaiting the results of a Tuesday autopsy to determine the cause of Dawson’s death.
BPD Chief Mark Mallory said no surveillance video exists from the hospital or surrounding buildings.
Dash-cam video footage from the officer’s car doesn’t show the incident occur but does contain audio. That video, along with the police report, will be released before Christmas, Mallory said.
Calhoun Liberty Hospital at-a-glance
Calhoun Liberty Hospital is a small, not-for-profit, critical-access hospital in Blountstown. It’s the primary health care provider for Liberty and Calhoun counties and is crucial to those rural residents since there are only a few doctors offices in the area. Built in 1960, it has 25 beds and serves about 1,200 emergency room patients each month.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the hospital’s former CEO Phillip Hill in connection with a more than $1 million fraud scheme. Hospital officials have accused Hill of creating between 50 and 100 fake invoices for medical supplies the hospital never received.