New Orleans East Hospital Agreed to Pay $95,000 for Allegedly Violating Patient Dumping Statute by Failing to Provide an Appropriate Medical Screening Examination and Stabilizing Treatment

On May 1, 2023, New Orleans East Hospital (NOEH), New Orleans, Louisiana, entered into a $95,000 settlement agreement with OIG. The settlement agreement resolves allegations that, based on OIG’s investigation, NOEH violated the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) when it failed to provide an adequate screening examination to a patient and failed to provide an adequate screening examination and stabilizing treatment to a second patient. The first patient, C.G., presented to NOEH’s emergency department (ED) at 6:58 P.M. on June 14, 2021, complaining of throat, toe, and groin pain. Triage was initiated at 8:23 P.M. and C.G complained of having bugs crawling on his body and that someone was trying to kill him. C.G. refused to answer questions and screamed and cursed at clinical staff. At 8:30 P.M., C.G. was removed from the hospital by security. NOEH failed to provide an adequate medical screening examination for C.G. The second patient, A.C., presented to NOEH’s ED at 12:00 A.M. on June 20, 2021, via ambulance. A.C. complained of abdominal pain and was brought to the waiting room. A.C. asked to be, and was assisted to the bathroom where she spent an extensive period of time and was found unresponsive. Between 2:00 and 3:00 A.M., after requesting to be taken outside, A.C. was wheeled out of the ED to a location near NOEH’s entrance. While sitting at the entrance, A.C. fell from her wheelchair. At 3:10 A.M., a security guard wheeled A.C. across the street to a bus stop. At approximately 4:00 A.M., a security guard found A.C. on the ground unresponsive at the bus stop. ED staff went to the bus stop to attend to A.C and return her to the ED. A.C. was pronounced dead at 4:34 A.M. NOEH failed to provide an adequate medical screening examination and stabilizing treatment to A.C. Deputy Branch Chief Tamara Forys represented OIG.

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