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Hospital Investigating After Video Shows Patient Being Left Outside in Gown

"In the end we clearly failed to fulfill our mission with this patient, no matter the circumstances of her case," the hospital said

The University of Maryland Medical System says it is investigating after video of a patient outside the hospital's Midtown campus wearing only a hospital gown and socks went viral. 

Imamu Baraka captured the incident on his cellphone Tuesday and later published it to his Facebook page. The video has been viewed over 1.5 million times. 

"At first I was shocked. I couldn't believe what I was seeing,'' Baraka told The Associated Press.

In the video, several people dressed in what appear to be security uniforms are seen walking away from a bus stop outside the hospital, and a disoriented woman dressed in a hospital gown and socks is seen standing by the stop.

"Wait, so y'all just going to leave this lady out here with no clothes on," Baraka, described on a professional website as a counselor, says in the video to the people. "That is not OK."

Baraka addresses the group several times, asking why the woman is being left outside. At one point, a man responds, "Due to the circumstances of what happened," before the group walks into the hospital.

In the video, the woman appears to have a wound on her forehead and can be heard mumbling or screaming at times. At one point, she stumbles as her hospital gown drapes off her shoulder. Bags of clothes and belongings are seen on the ground at the bus stop.

"It's about 30 degrees," Baraka says. "Come on and sit down."

Dr. Mohan Suntha, president and CEO of the Midtown Campus, told a news conference the hospital "failed" and that there are no excuses for what happened to the woman.

The Medical System confirmed earlier in a statement that the woman had been discharged from the emergency department.

In subsequent videos posted by Baraka, an ambulance is seen arriving in front of the bus stop, and Baraka says the woman was taken back to the same hospital.

"I said, 'Are you kidding me, they just dumped her on the curb.'," he recalled. 

It wasn't immediately clear what happened to the woman after she was driven back toward the hospital. But the hospital confirmed in a statement that the woman was discharged that Tuesday night.

Officials said they were in "shock and disappointment" by the video. 

"While there are many circumstances of this patient’s case that we cannot address publicly, in the end we clearly failed to fulfill our mission with this patient, no matter the circumstances of her case or the quality of the clinical care we provided in the hospital (which is not depicted in the video)," Medical System spokeswoman Kelly Swan said in a statement. 

The Medical System says it is doing a thorough review and evaluating the appropriate response. 

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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