Late last year, a seven-year-old pediatric patient was taken to Franciscan St. James Hospital in Olympia Fields after waking up with an asthma attack. Upon arrival, the patient’s family was told the Olympia Fields facility was ill-equipped to care for the child. According to the complaint, the patient and his family were instructed to be transferred via ambulance to Franciscan St. James Hospital in Chicago Heights, even though there were hospitals located closer to the Olympia Fields facility.
After arriving and staying at the Chicago Heights facility for eight hours, the patient and his family was instructed to transfer again to a pediatric intensive care unit at Provena St. Joseph Medical Center, located 45 minutes away in Joliet. The complaint alleges the patient’s asthmatic condition was worsening throughout this time, and the family was never instructed to transfer to closer facilities.
Soon after his arrival at Proven St. Joseph, the patient died. The three hospitals named in the complaint have not responded publicly.
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