The Great Smoky Mountain Journal

Staff, Wire Reports

Posted: Tuesday, January 01, 2019 02:21 PM

Mother Says Balitmore Hospital Left 22-Year Old Discharged Woman Out In Freezing Cold In "Callous" Manner

BALITMORE, M.D. (CBS) -- A 22-year-old woman discharged from a Maryland hospital "was humiliated" when she was left in freezing weather at a bus stop, and her mother is speaking out.

A bystander captured cellphone footage allegedly showing hospital workers leaving the woman, Rebecca, on a downtown Baltimore street. She only appeared to be wearing a flimsy hospital gown and socks, and the temperature was in the 30s.

The mother, Cheryl, said her daughter suffers from mental illness, and she decided to speak out to "correct the misinformation that's out there."

"My daughter was disposed of. She literally was disposed of. It's disgusting, heartbreaking, horrifying," Cheryl said. "And if it's all of those things for me, I want people to know how does Rebecca feel? This was done to her. She was on the street with her body exposed. There was no human dignity at all."

Cheryl said that when Rebecca was 16, she was diagnosed with bipolar schizoaffective disorder. She said her daughter also has Asperger's syndrome, which is a form of autism.

Rebecca had been living at a residential youth program until Christmas Eve, when she was discharged for not taking her medications.

"She has to be on meds, otherwise she has psychosis," Cheryl said. "She will have, uh, a manic episode."

The mother said she's been trying to get legal guardianship of her daughter so she can care for her and make sure she gets the medications she needs. However, HIPPA laws prevent doctors from speaking with Cheryl about Rebecca's conditions.

"This is a byproduct of what the mental health system is," she said. "I cannot get any help for my daughter."

Rebecca has since been taken to another facility to get treatment.

"What was in that video was no empathy for a sick young woman, and, um, it was just so callous and heartless how they put her out there in the cold, exposed, and didn't know her history, didn't know her background," Cheryl said. "And I don't think they ever really cared because they weren't looking at her like a human being."

The hospital apologized to Cheryl Thursday, and promised a thorough investigation.