Baby Rushed to Deserted Massachusetts ED
BOSTON --
Avery LaPointe's first birthday is two weeks away. It will be a special celebration considering the close call he just had with a bad cough that was literally choking him.
"He couldn't catch his breath. He was breathing in, he couldn't do it. He was panicking and it was the scariest night of my life," said his mother, Margo LaPointe.
It was Tuesday morning just after midnight that Avery's parents rushed him to Brockton Hospital's emergency room where there was no one to be found.
"Not a soul, total ghost town. No one in that emergency room," said LaPointe.
Newscenter 5's Amalia Barreda reported LaPointe pleaded with a security guard to call someone for help.
"No one came out, still, and I'm running. I started running up and down the hallway looking for employees. (There was) no one. All the doors were locked. I couldn't access anyone," LaPointe said.
LaPointe said she begged the security guard to make another call.
"He wouldn't pick up the phone again. He just looked at me and he said no, they're back there with other patients that are important. You just sit and wait," said LaPointe.
In a statement, the hospital said, "We are completing a thorough review of the procedures followed in our Emergency Department in this situation."
Avery's mother said that what made this more traumatic is the fact that the baby was born at Brockton Hospital. She described it as a wonderful experience that led her to having complete trust in the medical care that her baby would get there.
LaPointe said she ran red lights to get the baby to South Shore hospital, where the baby was diagnosed with pneumonia.
"I'm beyond disappointed and disgusted, and I'm enraged. Serious repercussions need to happen, and quickly, and new protocols need to be in place," she said.
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