Hospital wants someone to pay but doesn’t know who

Somewhere inside Desert Springs Hospital is a nameless patient in a persistent vegetative state who may be from Uruguay and is believed to be a member of the federal Witness Protection Program.

Not only is he unable to communicate, John Doe, as he is being referred to in a federal lawsuit filed by the hospital against the U.S. attorney general's office, knows nothing about his predicament.

In the past two years, he's racked up tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills, while his real name, place of birth and other personal information remains tucked away somewhere in the part of his brain that no longer works.

Hospital officials believe they have some inkling as to his identity and home country. How they've ascertained this has not been revealed; Desert Springs officials did not respond to requests last week for comment.

Desert Springs has also made attempts to contact John Doe's family, members of which, according to the lawsuit, want nothing to do with him.

The hospital would like him to be removed from its care, or to have someone at least pay for his stay. Right now, that's $75,000 at minimum, and could be much higher.

Hope lies in a Uruguayan medical facility that has offered to take in John Doe and provide him daily custodial care as long as he's breathing.

But there's a snag. He cannot be transferred until after someone has verified he is who people think he is and there is proof he was born in Uruguay.

"This is a very complex issue,'' said Carlos Gitto, consul general of Uruguay in Los Angeles and senior Uruguayan diplomat in the Western United States. "He has family in the United States, and a child. But, no one wants to have contact with him.''

Gitto's office was contacted by the hospital earlier this year to identify the patient's family in Uruguay. However, Gitto said the name he was given did not turn up anyone born in Uruguay.

When John Doe was admitted into Desert Springs Hospital two years ago, he was in a persistent vegetative state, unable to communicate and unaware of his surroundings.

Desert Springs' lawsuit, filed June 6 in U.S. District Court, is seeking an order to force the U.S. attorney general's office to pay the hospital for past and future costs associated with John Doe's care. The hospital also wants the agency to provide the medical facility with "minimal" documentation as to who the patient is and where he's originally from.

The hospital believes the agency is responsible for the patient because it oversees the Witness Protection Program and determines who is admitted into it.

After it was in touch with the Uruguayan consul, Desert Springs contacted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to try and determine John Doe's residency and immigration status.

"Unfortunately, following fingerprinting by an ICE agent, it was learned that patient Doe is a member of the (Witness Protection) program," the lawsuit states.

Hospital officials then contacted several federal agencies, such as the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

None was able to assist the hospital in identifying the man, according to court documents.

John McNulty, a spokesman for the marshal's service, said individuals and their families who participate in the Witness Protection Program do so voluntarily. Once in the program, they are relocated to other parts of the country. They are given new names and identities.

"Individuals in the program maintain contact with the U.S. Marshals Service,'' McNulty said. "It's a two-way contact. Because of our responsibility, to keep the person safe, we keep track of them.''

Natalie Collins, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office in Las Vegas, said the agency would not comment on the lawsuit or whether the man is in the Witness Protection Program. However, she said the agency has requested an extension through Oct. 24 to answer Desert Springs' complaint. According to a motion filed Wednesday, the attorney general's office was to submit its answer by Sept. 24.

The motion also says the U.S. attorney general's office is in the process of securing and transmitting information to Desert Springs subject to a protective order.

Court papers also say the federal agency admits the issue probably will be resolved within the next 30 days, though it doesn't say how.

In the meantime, John Doe's condition is listed as stable, health officials say in court documents.

A vegetative state can be the result of severe brain damage due to a head injury, oxygen deprivation, or a severe disorder. It occurs when the portion of the brain that controls thought and behavior is destroyed, but the thalamus and brain stem, which control sleep cycles, body temperature, breathing and heart rate, are spared.

People in this state can open their eyes, have normal sleep and walking patterns, breathe and swallow spontaneously, and may even show a startled reaction to loud noises.

"They have no meaningful interaction with the environment. They do not respond to stimulation. They don't do anything to let you know they are there,'' said Dr. Stanley Cohen, a Las Vegas neurologist who primarily deals with stroke victims. "But, you can live for a very, very long time with good nursing care.''

Most of that care centers on preventing infections and giving the patient proper nutrition, health officials say.

Cohen said it isn't unusual for a hospital or medical facility to admit a patient with brain damage who cannot be identified. He said when he worked at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, a homeless man was admitted with a brain injury.

Hospital officials had no way of identifying him, he said.

Though he doesn't know the results of that case, "he was there for months,'' Cohen said.

"This isn't unique. What would be unique is if the patient is part of the Witness Protection Program.''