Lehigh Regional Medical Center Agreed to Pay $50,000 for Allegedly Violating Patient Dumping Statute by Failing to Provide an Appropriate Medical Screening Examination and Stabilizing Treatment

On July 27, 2023, Lehigh Regional Medical Center (LRMC), Lehigh Acres, Florida, entered into a $50,000 settlement agreement with OIG. The settlement agreement resolves allegations that LRMC violated the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) when it failed to provide an appropriate medical screening examination and stabilizing treatment to a patient. OIG’s investigation concluded that on September 12, 2021, patient A.R., a 30-year-old male who was physically disabled, bed bound, and ventilator dependent, presented to LRMC’s Emergency Department (ED) via EMS. A.R.’s tracheostomy tube had been dislodged and he had profuse bleeding and continuous airway obstruction. EMS notified the ED about A.R.’s critical condition prior to arrival, including his heart rate of 37 beats per minute and his need for a ventilator. LRMC’s ED did not attempt to divert EMS to another facility after receiving the report of A.R.’s critical condition. After EMS transported A.R. into the ED, they were prohibited from transferring A.R. off their transportation gurney and instructed to take him to a different facility. The ED physician did not enter A.R.’s treatment room and no other qualified medical professional performed a medical screening examination. Additionally, no stabilizing treatment was provided for A.R.’s obstructed airway. LRMC’s failure to screen and to provide any stabilizing treatment caused EMS to leave the ED with A.R. in search of another facility. A.R. went into cardiac arrest just minutes after leaving LRMC’s ED and was pronounced dead upon arrival at a second ED facility. Senior Counsel Julie Redlinger represented OIG.

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