People or things? People or things? ADVERTISING In 1992, a man named Lance Lawrence died in Hilo because of a tooth infection. His friend tried to get him treatment by calling every dentist in the local phone book. None would
People or things?
In 1992, a man named Lance Lawrence died in Hilo because of a tooth infection. His friend tried to get him treatment by calling every dentist in the local phone book. None would see him because he was on welfare and had no insurance.
Lance was seen at the emergency room at Hilo Medical Center and sent back out on the street because he had no insurance. He was readmitted, when his neck had swelled to three times its normal size, but he died before he could be transferred to Honolulu, which was necessary by that time because he was too sick to be helped in Hilo. The case received national attention.
In 1996, two mobile dental buses were commissioned to serve people who could not afford dental service. More than 2,000 people were served in one year by the vans. No one died of the causes which killed the unfortunate Mr. Lawrence. In 2009, the buses were decommissioned, because local community dental clinics were established around the island which are able to treat low-income patients.
The Hawaii County Council, instead of wasting their time and our money, needs to quit dealing with matters as trivial as paper bag bans and skateboarder helmets, and deal with people instead of things. (Oh, and that ordinance requiring everyone to put their address on their house. How’s that working out?)
The police must be trained in how to deal with indigent people as if they were as important as people who can afford expensive clothing and nice colognes and perfumes. Someone with money would not have been summarily dropped back on the street as was “Erika” (Tribune-Herald, Feb. 15). But then, someone with money would have insurance and would have been welcomed at the HMC and would not have been spit back out like her.
Anyone who was walking aimlessly in the middle of traffic is clearly a danger to themselves or others and should have been placed on suicide watch, either at the police station or the hospital.
We need to establish a cadre of trained professionals who can respond to emergencies like the one that happened in this situation, and safe places for them to evaluate and triage people like “Erika.” A cadre that won’t be pressured to be concerned about the bottom line before the patient’s welfare. Maybe such a cadre will encourage local care facilities as did the “tooth buses.”
The county spent $4 million for a dump in Pahoa, $2 million for a dump in Keaau, nearly $10 million for a dump in Hilo which has trouble even being used. Dump nothing on the streets except people.
Finally, someone outside of HMC needs to investigate whether doctors are pressured to not treat indigent people at the hospital.
By the time Lance Lawrence died, the state and county had spent nearly $10,000 on treatment and transportation costs, which came too late to save his life. One hundred dollars worth of treatment would have saved his life. If someone is ignored by the system and commits suicide, why have we failed? If a mentally unstable person causes a police standoff situation, or worse, how much money will we spend to end it? Or if they cause harm to someone else, how much will it cost? Do we value people, or do we only value things?
Del Pranke
Pahoa
