Calif. proposal would bar hospitals from dumping homeless patients [View All]

[The Straight Story]

Calif. proposal would bar hospitals from dumping homeless patients

Associated Press
Feb. 22, 2007 08:37 AM
LOS ANGELES - California officials are unveiling a proposed bill that would make it a crime to drop off hospital patients on the street.

It comes in response to accusations that hospitals and law enforcement agencies from outside Los Angeles have left patients and criminals on the streets of the downtown area known as Skid Row without taking them to a mission or service provider.

Most recently, a paraplegic man wearing a colostomy bag was left in a gutter.
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Authorities said they are investigating 55 cases of suspected "dumping" of people on Skid Row. They have had trouble building criminal cases because there isn't a state law that prohibits leaving patients on the streets.

The new legislation was to be introduced Thursday by state Sen. Gil Cedillo, who represents a section of Los Angeles that includes Skid Row. The proposal would make it a misdemeanor for any hospital facility or worker to transport patients anywhere other than their residences without their informed consent.

Individual offenders could be punished by up to two years in jail and possibly face a fine of up to $1,000. Healthcare facilities that violate the law could be hit with penalties of up to $10,000.

The Hospital Association of Southern California expressed concern about the proposed legislation.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0222HomelessDumping22-ON.html