Scrutiny of hospital increases

The Nevada State Board of Nursing has opened a probe into the treatment of a pregnant Las Vegas woman who said she was ignored as she moaned and pleaded for help while waiting for six hours in University Medical Center's emergency room.

Meanwhile, two other people in the waiting room on the night 25-year-old Roshunda Abney sought help backed up what she and her fiancé told the Review-Journal: When others in the waiting room asked a nursing assistant to aid Abney, they were told to mind their own business or they wouldn't get a chance to see a physician.

"He made people afraid they'd get kicked out," said 45-year-old Darlla Wall, whose 21-year-old son, Jayson, accompanied her to the hospital when she complained of chest pains.

"My son tried to get her (Abney) help, and he was told to sit down or else."

Abney and her fiancé, Raffinee Dewberry, said they also unsuccessfully sought treatment for her abdominal pain on Nov. 30 at Valley Hospital Medical Center before giving up and going home.

Valley officials deny the couple's allegations.

Twenty minutes after she arrived home, Abney began to give birth to a baby girl. Paramedics were called, and they performed a breech delivery. Abney and the baby were taken to the hospital in separate ambulances.

Results of a coroner's examination on the 1-pound, 6-ounce girl, named Angel by Abney, have not been released. Abney said she was told it appeared she was in her sixth month of pregnancy.

Abney, who had not known she was pregnant, identified the nursing assistant who would not help her as a man named Renard.

On Wednesday, after testifying before the Legislative Committee on Health Care about a security breach at UMC, hospital CEO Kathy Silver confirmed that a nursing assistant by the name of Renard Beavers was on duty in the UMC emergency center waiting room the night Abney alleges she could not get help.

Silver said she could not comment further on a personnel matter. But she said if what has been reported is true, "it is inexcusable, and action will be taken."

Debra Scott, executive director of the nursing board, said she could not identify the source of the complaint to the board because of privacy issues. She said that the complaint did not come from a family member and that no sanctions had been brought against Beavers in the past.

She would not discuss specifics of the complaint.

The Review-Journal tried unsuccessfully to reach Beavers for comment Tuesday and Wednesday.

Abney and her fiancé said other UMC personnel were unwilling to help them.

Abney said she described her pain to one UMC staffer administering a blood pressure test, who said her description sounded as though she had gallstones. Abney said she told the staffer that the pain was excruciating whether she was sitting, standing or lying down.

Scott said if someone goes beyond the scope of his or her practice, that is against procedures deemed acceptable by the nursing board. Also, emergency room staffers are instructed to tell a registered nurse if someone is complaining of pain, she said.

Wall said she and her son sat directly behind Abney.

"She was doubled over; she was in a lot of pain," Wall said. "I knew she was in labor, but she and her boyfriend didn't know it. I've had two kids. I know what labor looks like. I felt horrible for her. I looked through my purse to give her Aleve."

Wall said that because she was having chest pains, she tried to remain calm while the woman pleaded for help.

"My son and practically everybody in the waiting room felt for her," she said. "They all told the guy in charge to take her first, and all he did was threaten them. My son even told the woman's boyfriend to go outside and call an ambulance and that way she could get help."

Wall said that after nine hours, she was able to see a doctor.

"Once I got in back, everything was all right," Wall said. "They said I had a cardiac episode."

Contact reporter Paul Harasim at pharasim@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2908.