Tuesday, December 1, 2009

#754. Watches Left on Dying Men in the ER



"I might not be a doctor, but I play one one TV."

Who doesn't remember that famous commercial? Everyone loves doctors, yet few care to invest the time and effort into the proper education to be certified to take the Hippocratic Oath. In fact, doctors record some of the highest trust levels from the general public (amid a number of different vocations).

How many TV shows have centered around the hospital and the various eccentricities and nuisances of life in the ER?

Face it: we are a nation that loves watching life in the ER on television and also in trusting doctors to constantly give us the best advice for our health.

We love doctors, for they might give us unpleasant news occasionally, but it usually comes with a lollipop at the end of visit. Everyone loves lollipops.

However, SBPDL will be focusing on the ER and the entire medical profession the next few days, and we recently came across a most fascinating story concerning a member of the medical fraternity that tarnished the halo around the M.D. title a few degrees:
"Dr. Cleveland Enmon is an emergency room physician at St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Stockton . Dr. Enmon is accused of abandoning attempts to resuscitate a patient from cardiac arrest to instead pocket the dead man’s valuable Rolex wristwatch. The suit, filed by the adult children of Jerry Keith Kubena, Sr., alleges that Dr. Cleveland James Enmon on June 1 “formed the intent” to swipe the Rolex from Kubena’s wrist while treating the man at St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Stockton."

The nursing staff assisting Enmon soon noticed that Kubena’s flashy timepiece was missing; “Where is the wristwatch?” the suit quotes one as uttering. Two more nurses allegedly noticed a wristwatch-shaped bulge in the doctor’s pocket. Security was called to investigate the disappearance. Defying security’s orders, the lawsuit notes Enmon walked out of the operating room and into the parking lot, a move caught on hospital security cameras. A nurse claims she saw Enmon toss a small object into the grass and she subsequently led security personnel to that exact area and recovered the watch."
This story is a shocking reminder that life in the ER isn't always glamorous and one can't be to careful with who they entrust their Rolex too guard, especially when they struggle to cling to each breath.

Enmon was the former chief resident of Emergency Medicine in King-Drew Emergency Medicine, one of the nations worst hospitals ( you won't see any TV shows glorifying this ER ):
"King-Harbor found itself under public criticism once again after different stories ran in both the Los Angeles Times and LA Weekly in late May 2007 citing serious lapses in care, one fatal, at the renamed hospital.

The case of patient Edith Isabel Rodriguez, who bled to death on the emergency room floor after being ignored for 45 minutes, in particular became a cause célèbre about the failures and bureaucratic indifference of both King-Harbor as well as political and health leaders in the Los Angeles area; creating or reinforcing fears that the health care system will not take care of people in a time of dire need."
Black people in the Los Angeles were horrified at the prospect of losing the hospital, especially one named after one of the patron saints of the new America, Martin Luther King Jr.:

"Let's be honest," said Dr. Dennis S. O'Leary, president of The Joint Commission, a hospital accrediting group, "if this were a hospital different from King/Drew, this would have been over a long time ago."

He and other experts interviewed by The Times said the government would have moved much faster and more aggressively if King-Harbor, formerly known as King/Drew, didn't have a unique history and special standing in the community.

The hospital was one of the few gains from the 1965 Watts riots and still is one of the few places poor people in South Los Angeles can turn to for acute care. African American politicians, in particular, have embraced its salvation.

...The most recent problems began in January 2004, when inspectors found that nurses lied in charts about patients' conditions, failed to give crucial medications prescribed by doctors and left seriously ill patients unattended for hours -- including three who died."
So Dr. Enmon was a product of this hospital, that was universal decried as perhaps the most ineffectively run ER in the country, where patients were routinely left to rot? Any Rolex watches reported stolen at that prestigious hospital, before its doors were shuttered?

Dr. Enmon was a by-product of Morehouse College, a school which recently adopted new rules in a move to try and deter negative stereotypes about Black people. Something tells us this recent display of petty larceny, coupled with systematic indifference to the patients well-being is a shining example of the caliber of graduates Morehouse educates, as Dr. Enmon represents the Morehouse man with gusto!

Worse, another event recently transpired - this time in Philadelphia - where homeless, cracked out bums (obviously encouraged by Dr. Enmon's example) robbed a dying man of his watch!:
"A school counselor suffering an apparent heart attack died in a Philadelphia emergency room after waiting nearly 80 minutes for help — and a trio of homeless drug addicts nearby stole his watch instead of seeking aid, police said.

Joaquin Rivera, 63, died before seeing a triage nurse at Atria Health's Frankford Campus over the weekend, police said.

Rivera, a musician and activist in the city's Latino community, had spent more than 30 years working as a bilingual counselor at an inner-city high school.

"We're all destroyed. A guy like that, for him to leave us the way that he did — and with what happened to him — everybody's destroyed," said Jesse Bermudez, a friend and fellow musician."

The problem with this case though, is the trio of homeless drug addicts were multi-racial, which means Dr. Enmon and his alleged crime of stealing a Rolex has become something of an urban legend within the drug-addicted community, for he has so much in common with petty criminals.

A Morehouse educated doctor, who was the FORMER CHIEF OF EMERGENCY MEDICINE at a hospital that was routinely blasted for being an embarrassment to the medical profession (but was allowed to stay open due to racial politics) has more in common with homeless drug addicts, then with these M.D.'s.

Stuff Black People Don't Like includes watches left on dying men in the Emergency Room/ ER, for Dr. Enmon seems to have more in common with drug addicts in Philadelphia then in being an upstanding representative of one of the finest medical schools for prospective Black M.D.'s ( or was ):
"While talking with four of his friends in Morehouse College’s Frederick Douglass Learning Resource Center, their conversation quickly turned to the September 2006 issue of Black Enterprise magazine, which included its biannual list of the “Top 50 Colleges for African Americans.” After four consecutive years of being the top ranked school, Morehouse’s placement on the most recent list dropped forty-four spots from number one to number forty-five."
If you are sick in a major city, it might be more conducive trying to find an actor who plays a doctor on TV then going to a hospital run by Morehouse graduates.














15 comments:

xlr8 said...

Bad story as usual, but I can not avoid asking myself what was doing a Rolex owner in a poor people hospital.
He should sue not only the doctor (well the doctor is black so automatically absolved), and the hospital but also who conducted him there.

And, thinking well, he was black?

Anonymous said...

I was a smart, high achieving white nerd in a high school. I went to a decent college while I watched the black C students go to prestigious schools and pile on the scholarships.

Just had an informal ten year high school reunion over the holidays and I was shocked to discover that one of the dullest kids in my class (who is black) is now in medical school. Another is now a dentist.

I am struggling to get into school to be a Physician Assistant.

This is the reality of race in America now. If you are black and meet the barest qualifications to go to med school, you can get in by checking a box on your application that says "African-American." If you are white, Asian, or Indian you must compete on a vicious playing field with everyone else. Only a special exception is made if you are black.

So some day I will be a Physician Assistant, perhaps assisting my classmates who got worse grades, lower test scores, and didn't work as hard as I did.

Anonymous said...

So, let me if I understand this. All I had to do is fill out a form stating I'm black and instead of being a mechanic I could be a brain surgeon. WOW! I might be wrong, but that is the stupidest crap I've heard in a long time. I guess that is a concept only an aspiring PA can understand. Also when did you guys start liking Asians and Indians? Just curious.

-Black guy

Hoax said...

Not quite Black guy. An aspiring mechanic would go to a techincal school, or apprentice under another mechanic, and get ASE certifications, whereas an aspiring brain surgeon would go to a 4 year university then med school. Those are two totally different paths.

The black applicant - well the negro applicant, black Indians don't recieve the same preferrential treatment, so saying the black applicant isn't quite accurate; anyway you cannot deny the fact that, simply by filling out the "African American" dot on a form, an applicant is instantly given preferential treatment and lowered standards due to our culture's demand for racial diversity.

That term "racial diversity" quite succinctly illustrates the problem with the buzzword of "diversity". When people talk about the goodness of diversity they are referring to diversity of ideas. That is, people with different backgrounds think differently, therefore by encouraging diversity more ideas are generated, which aids in the refinement process, which in turn leads to better ideas being implemented.

Well, all white people don't think alike, and all asian people don't think alike. Saying that the French are like the Germans who are like the English is insulting, and wrong. Saying that the Chinese are like the Koreans who are like the Japanese is insulting, and wrong. Hell, even insinuating that because two kids grew up in the same town together they are the same, is insulting... and wrong.

Diversity of ideas is good, but lowering standards to encourage racial diversity is bad. Why? Well, manadating that a black 'C' student is given the same consideration as a white or asian 'A' student is ridiculous. That 'C' student is simply not on the same level, and drags down the aggregate of thought. Adding diversity in the form of an affirmative action student is actually harmful, because ideas they come up with are substandard.

Getting back to the point of the article, racial diversity should not be an excuse for lowered standards. Just because someone is black, or in this case because the hospital of King/Drew caters to and employs black people, there should be no excuse for poor performance.

Anonymous said...

Black Guy,

Did you ever try to go to college or did you just assume you would be discriminated against if you did try? Affirmative action is very real, so you just keep on pretending otherwise.

There are plenty of White people who respect Asians and Indians. All the races on Earth have invented and created things deserving of some respect, well, except one race (that goes without saying).

Dave

Anonymous said...

Lets be honest here. This is obiviously about race. For one this incident is old and it has been spread threw nearly every white supremist site on the web. Most of you already know that.

Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty in this country, oh wait I forgot that doesnt apply to BLACK MEN. With us its your guilty until we feel otherwise.

Websites like this are for keyboard klansman to act out their vicious racism instead of dealing with their own insecurities. When ever a black does bad in life you people say, "oh look their race is so lazy and has zero accomplishments." When we do well in life you people say, "Oh look affirmative action."

Websites like this are opening our eyes to what conservative WHITES and uncle toms think of minorities and blacks. Conservatives will vote for a boot lickin uncle tom like Clarence Thomas anytime just to say Im not racist.

HEY, Dave just to let you know every race has invented and created things deserving respect despite what type to deal with your insecurities.

Brian Jones.

Anonymous said...

Dave,

I didn't go to college because it just wasn't the path I choose. I'm about as cut out for college as my white and Asian co-workers(yes, there are Asian mechanics).

As far as whites "respecting" Asians and Indians many of my co-workers would disagree with that statement. If by respect you mean dating Asian women while at the same time treating her Asian friends like garbage, I guess you're right. As far as the average white poster on this site they hate blacks and Asians equally. All it takes is for that Asian chick to turn you down and let the racial slurs fly.

As far as this so-called affirmative action goes I think you're confusing it with laws against hiring discrimination. Also affirmative benefited mostly white women and veterans. Are you against veterans and white women?

-Black guy

Anonymous said...

It amuses me anyone can deny the obvious advantages that reverse discrimination confers on the oh-so-chosen races; I could have gone to CMU or an Ivy league school with my scores...I know, I met many blacks on scholarship to such schools...

...instead I went to Pitt, and worked to pay my way through.

Also lost a lucrative summer job on a road construction crew when they signed a state contract and had to hire a certain percentage of women/and or minorities...

...keep talkin' Black Guy, you make us all laugh!

You seem articulate and capable of making an argument...have you considered national politicks?

Anonymous said...

It amuses me anyone can deny the obvious advantages that reverse discrimination confers on the oh-so-chosen races; I could have gone to CMU or an Ivy league school with my scores...I know, I met many blacks on scholarship to such schools with scores lower than mine...

...instead I went to Pitt, and worked to pay my way through.

Also lost a lucrative summer job on a road construction crew when they signed a state contract and had to hire a certain percentage of women/and or minorities...

...keep talkin' Black Guy, you make us all laugh!

You seem articulate and capable of making an argument...have you considered national politicks?

xlr8 said...

Black guy, are you really telling you should need to fill in a form?

I am really ashamed how still racist our society still is.

Next entry here: Black declaring explicitly in a check box their race for obtaining instant galactic empire. Or interstellar domain. Or at least the USA presidency.

Anonymous said...

The vast majority of blacks and whites don't associate outside of work and school. It's funny that a lot of you guys claim to have first hand knowledge of individual SAT scores of black people. Let me guess your black "best friend" told you. Or was it your cousin's black boyfriend? I love the way even racist whites pretend to know black people.

-Black guy

Anonymous said...

spread threw nearly every white supremist site on the web.

I think you are looking for the word through not threw - oh I'm sorry you are a victim race.

Also affirmative benefited mostly white women and veterans.

Interesting - where did your so called "facts" come from?

charlie sierra said...

Of course affirmative action is just a buzzword for preferential hiring of mostly blacks. Otherwise there would probably be almost no blacks working at the Post Office or most jobs where intelligence is mandatory. And by the way I do like Asian people as they as a group have shown advancement as human beings unlike Blacks which have never fully evolved past their emotional level of being, i.e.: the bottom of Maslow's hierarchy of needs chart: food, sex, violence, unchecked emotions, materialism ("bling" and big rims), racist hate and jealousy towards whites (we do have the "good" hair after all). I've also never been bothered or threatened once in fifty two years by an Asian but have been by many blacks in my younger days( I don't take crap off them anymore). So what about it Black Guy, does your wife spend a great portion of her life attempting to have another race's hair? From your posts I would guess no, she's going natural, but only you know what the real story is there...

Anonymous said...

Hoax,
"Drags down the aggregate of thought" is a terrific term, thought being interchangeable with "ethics", "honesty" and a few other choice words.
"Dragging down the aggregate" in general has given us an increasingly coarse, criminal, unethical society, from the highest office in the land to the worst hospital.
Excellent post!

Anonymous said...

I wonder if "black guy" even considers the victims, which may be himself, or his family, of these results of affirmative action, racial quotas, etc. and any other types of racial pandering?