The Observation Deck

Due to the fact that some were becoming tired of thread-drift in the "What Roads Lead to a Hospital" thread, I created this thread to discuss alleged "inaccurate" statements made by posters on the Lakewood Observation Deck.

In the previous thread, Chief Gilman stated the following:

Calling the Lakewood ER and Urgi Care is an inaccurate statement. Urgent Care centers are setup to assist patients with an illness or injury that does not appear to be life –threatening, but also can’t wait until the next day, or for primary care doctor to see them. The Lakewood ER offers 24 hour service and provides a much wider range of care. Life threatening illness and injures have been handled by the Lakewood ER.

I called up to the "ER" recently regarding a family member that was passing kidney stones and was in much pain. At first, the staff member told me that they could treat kidney stones there. After some further questioning, I was able to get her to admit that my family member would more than likely have to be transferred out after stabilization (which would mean two ER bills and two ambulance bills). I then asked if many people are being transferred out, and the staff member told me that was correct. I have the conversation on tape.

In summary, I feel that the Lakewood "ER" is simply a pit stop between home and an inpatient hospital. Even on the Cleveland Clinic - Lakewood website, it says nowhere that surgeries can be performed at the "ER". Therefore, it would appear that anything other than cuts, fractures, and common illnesses cannot be treated at the "ER". If there is actual documentation or other tangible evidence that a patient with a serious, life-threatening, time-sensitive, critical ailment, was brought to Lakewood "ER", stabilized, treated, and sent straight home with no inpatient stay or transfer to a hospital, I would be very interested in seeing it. Otherwise, it would seem that this claim holds little to no water.

Also in the previous thread, Chief Gilman stated the following:

I have been accused of hiding behind HIPPA because i will not provide patient care reports. Those reports are not public record and LFD does not have run sheets. We also do not currently produce a report of transport times but are investigating how to pull that data. The data to produce a report like that comes from multiple different sources such as entry by a dispatcher a time stamp from the life pak that exports to the EMS report and a time stamp from the hospital. Below is exemption from the ORC for patient care reports.

I never requested patient care reports, I requested EMS run sheets (which allegedly don't exist) or other documentation that lists EMS transport times. If Chief Gilman is saying that the transport times are on the same document and page as these "patient care reports", dispatcher files, or the time stamp from the EMS report, which comes from the Life Pak, I would like to refer him to page 31 of Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine's Yellowbook (a very handy public records manual), which cites ample case law that holds:

Where exempt information is so “intertwined” with the public information as to reveal the exempt information from
the context, the record itself, and not just the exempt information, may be withheld.

Are the exempt medical information and patient names so "intertwined" that they cannot simply be "redacted" or blacked-out? Would revealing the transport times risk revealing patient names or exempt medical information? That seems odd to me. Unless it can be proven that revealing transport times would risk revealing privileged information, it is only fair that the documents are released within a reasonable period of time, whichever medium the information is stored on. I am assuming that we will see the actual, non-edited documents on OneLakewood.com and here on the Deck. Transparency is key.

In my telephone conversation with the Law Department back in January, I was told that the requested EMS run sheets were thousands of pages. Therefore, I revised the request to a smaller time frame. I have never received any official e-mail or communication that these documents are ready for pick-up to this day. Chief Gilman only recently informed me that they were ready. At this point however, why bother?

Finally, Chief Gilman needs to also list the rest of the alleged "inaccurate" statements, including the poster's name, along with actual, tangible documentation proving that the statement is false. Just because information comes from a third-party does not automatically render it "inaccurate".

Bump.

If Lakewood's ER is all they say it is, why was it reported in the Sun Post Police Blotter last issue that a woman who was hit by a car while riding her bike on AURTHUR avenue immediately taken to Fairview hospital? I do not know the extent of her injuries but it's curious that Lakewood's ER was not even an option considering it was only a minute or two away from the accident.

Sad, in more ways than one.

We, the people in Lakewood, have been screwed out of health care within our city!

gilman referred to posts using words such as "I've heard" or "a friend of a friend". he was referring to all the hearsay evidence that gets posted as legitimate evidence around here.

you need to get laid, lori. stop recording calls, put your camera in a drawer and go get some ass. or get a hobby, like drinking or something.

To answer the question posted about a bike rider hit by a car that is based largely on the mechanism of injury. That type of injury has been taken to a trauma center for years before the hospital discussion started. When the number of trauma centers in county was consolidated there was a drop in trauma mortality. You can look those numbers up on the Ohio Department of EMS web site. Cuyahoga County was the only county in the state to see a reduction in trauma mortality.

Lori I posted to you in February that your records were available. You posted a reply several days later.

I dealt with the Law Department in regards to this request. If the records were available, there was no reason why the Law Department could not contact me officially. The Deck should not be relied upon to relay official communication relating to public records requests. It should be done in the same form as the original request (which was an e-mail to the Law Department, not a post on the Deck).

The issue is still not being fully addressed. On my previous post, I cited case law and information from Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine's Yellowbook which both state that exempted information in a public record can be redacted and that the rest must be released, unless the exempt information and public information are so intertwined that it could endanger the confidentiality of the exempt information. Again, if the transport times are contained on the same medium, document or page that contains exempt information, would redacting patient names and confidential medical records really risk revealing the exempt information? Again, that seems odd to me.

Again, the transport times should be posted in a news release on OneLakewood.com and here on the Deck. This way, the times can reach a much broader audience. If the "ER" and the whole deal is wonderful, let the sun shine in. Unless it can be proven that redaction of the patient names and exempt medical records and release of public information would run the risk of revealing the confidential, non-public information, there is really no reason why this cannot be done.

I also find it odd that the Law Department had thousands of pages of documents (too many to print) back in January and suddenly they are privileged or are otherwise unavailable to appropriately redact and put in a news release for all to see.

You have addressed the alleged "inaccurate " statement relating to the "ER" or "Urgent Care". Can the other alleged inaccurate statements by the other posters on the Deck be addressed, with actual, tangible documentation proving that the statements were inaccurate? In absence of this and absence of transport times in a news release within a reasonable period of time should make one wonder what may be hidden.

scott gilman wrote:To answer the question posted about a bike rider hit by a car that is based largely on the mechanism of injury. That type of injury has been taken to a trauma center for years before the hospital discussion started. When the number of trauma centers in county was consolidated there was a drop in trauma mortality. You can look those numbers up on the Ohio Department of EMS web site. Cuyahoga County was the only county in the state to see a reduction in trauma mortality.

Thanks Chief for clearing that up. Before the Clinic closed Lakewood, wasn't there a certain level of trauma that could have been dealt with there? I only ask because I do know there are several levels of trauma-1,2,and 3 and every hospital has a rating, correct?

Lakewood was a Level II Trauma Center. There were 7 trauma centers in our area at that time 10 level I Metro, 4 Level II, Lakewood, Fairview, Hillcrest and Huron Road and 2 Level III Southwest and St. John's. Two of the Level II's were closed and University opened a new Level I. When you look at other trauma systems that's a lot of trauma centers in a small region. If you have the time take a look at the Ohio EMS web site for more information.

When I got home this afternoon, I had a voicemail message from Jennifer in the Law Dept. Her message basically said that Chief Gilman had gotten all of the records together that I requested and that they had been lying on her desk for several months and that if I wanted them, there would be a $15.00 charge. It should be noted that these records were for a few days in December, before the hospital even closed. I called Jennifer back to let her know that I have never received a telephone call, a voicemail message, nor an e-mail. I even checked my spam folders. I might get an e-mail today in an attempt to cover all bases. According to Jennifer, Chief Gilman was rather upset and had called her in regards to this. I asked her to please let him know that I never received a call, voicemail, or e-mail. I don't want to cause anyone any unnecessary stress.

Also, any answer as to whether or not the documents containing transport times (exempt information redacted) will be posted on Onelakewood.com and here on the Deck at some point, so everyone can see?

Lori here is a copy of the email that was set to you letting you know the records were ready.

From: Swallow, Jennifer
Sent: Wednesday, January 20, 2016 10:27 AM
To: 'l.allen01@mail.com'
Subject: Records Request

Ms. Allen,

I have the requested records available for pick up in the Law Department. There are a total of 300 pages at $0.05 per page. The total due is $15.00. Let me know when you would like to stop in to get them.

Thank you,

Jennifer L. Swallow
Chief Assistant Law Director
City of Lakewood

This is not the e-mail address I sent the request in. I have not used this e-mail address in a long time due to technical difficulties. I sent the request from a G-Mail account. It would make sense to send the e-mail to the account in which the request originated. Perhaps in the future, the entire line of communication should be posted, not just a snippet, so we get the full story.

Also,

1. The other "inaccurate" statements made by Deck posters need to be addressed, with actual, tangible documentation posted to back up the allegation that the statement is "inaccurate".

2. Instead of beating around the bush, it may prove more beneficial to get the recent transport times posted on OneLakewood.com. and the Deck. The times I requested were from before the hospital closed. Now that the hospital is closed, it would benefit everyone to see what the times actually are.

3. Is there any actual, tangible documentation that backs up the claim that someone with a life-threatening, critical, time-sensetive, ailment was brought straight to Lakewood ER, treated, and sent right home with no outside transport or inpatient stay needed? Names and medical history can be redacted.

Thanks.

Here is a copy of the email you sent and below is a copy of the email sent to you. Both addresses look the same to me

From: Lori Allen [mailto:l.allen01@mail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, December 29, 2015 11:31 AM
To: Butler, Kevin
Cc: Law Dept; Fire Dept
Subject: Records Request - EMS Run Sheets

Good Morning Mr. Butler,

In accordance with the Ohio Public Records Act, I am making a public records request. This request is seeking: EMS run sheets created by the Lakewood Division of Fire between December 1st, 2015 and December 28th, 2015.

According to 1999 Ohio Op. Att'y Gen. No. 006, non-medical information may not be redacted from requested EMS run sheets. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. I appreciate your help and attention to this request.

Sincerely,

Lori Allen
L.allen01@mail.com

From: Swallow, Jennifer
Sent: Wednesday, January 20, 2016 10:27 AM
To: 'l.allen01@mail.com'
Subject: Records Request

Ms. Allen,

I have the requested records available for pick up in the Law Department. There are a total of 300 pages at $0.05 per page. The total due is $15.00. Let me know when you would like to stop in to get them.

Thank you,

Jennifer L. Swallow
Chief Assistant Law Director
City of Lakewood

Pulling at straws a bit, no? Although I am flattered that this thread has now been centered around me.

1. This is an old request. I made a new request using a new e-mail address, as City Hall informed me that the time frame of the original request would take an enormous amount of time and that this e-mail address did not work.

2. Again, the response should be sent to the e-mail address in which the request originated. The second request was separate and included a separate time frame than the first request. New request and new e-mail address. I never received anything on my new e-mail address.

Now, getting back to the actual subject of this thread:

1. Can the other alleged inaccurate statements made by posters on the Deck be addressed, with actual, tangible documentation proving that the alleged inaccurate statement is actually inaccurate?

2. Will the non-edited EMS transport times from the time Lakewood Hospital closed be posted on Onelakewood.com and the Deck (with patient names and medical information redacted)?

3. Can we please see actual, tangible documentation showing that individuals with life-threatening, time-sensitive, critical ailments or injuries was taken to Lakewood "ER", treated, and then immediately sent home without any transport to another hospital for an inpatient stay?

Thanks.

To answer your questions
If there was a death there is a public record from the medical examiner. No one has posted that or provided information as to who or when it allegedly happened so that the story can be validated.
No patient care repoets will be posted. LFD does not keep run sheets as you keep claiming.
LFD does not get reports of what happens to patients after we transport to a hospital except in certain cases such as when the patient is taken to the cath lab. So no I can not reply to your third request