What should have been a simple trip to the emergency room for health-related issues quickly turned fatal for a young black woman.
What We Know:
- Tashonna Ward (25) of Milwaukee, waited several hours at Froedtert Hospital emergency room even though she made complaints of shortness of breath and chest pains. Typically, during emergency room visits, patients experiencing chest pains get examined quicker than those experiencing minor health issues. However, Ward was left waiting hours after doctors ran a few tests on her.
- They eventually gave Ward a chest X-ray which showed abnormalities because of an enlarged heart, also known as cardiomegaly. After being placed back into the waiting room for over two hours, Ward became frustrated with the waiting time. Ward shared her horrible experience at the emergency room with her Facebook followers.
- “I been here since 4:30 something for shortness of breath, and chest pains for them to just say it’s a two to SIX hour wait to see a DR. Like that is really f—— ridiculous,” Ward wrote. After such a long wait Ward ultimately left the hospital to seek help at a nearby urgent care center.
- Unfortunately, after arriving to the urgent care center Ward didn’t make it inside for medical help because she collapsed outside of her car and they transported her back to Froedtert Hospital. Ward was later pronounced dead with the cause of death being hypertensive cardiovascular disease.
- Family members of the deceased were left feeling angry and distraught after learning of Ward’s death at just 25 years old. “How can you triage someone with shortness of breath and chest pain and stick them in the lobby?” said Ward’s cousin, Andrea Ward. “Froedtert needs to change their policy.”
We’re sending our condolences to the Ward family during this tragic time. Although, it’s not uncommon to wait a long time during a trip to the emergency room, it’s more alarming that the doctors didn’t feel as though Ward’s symptoms were urgent enough for her to receive faster treatment.
