on a psychiatric emergency room floor. surveillance video captures the moments when others decide to intervene or not. and their decisions have dire consequences. she was a really beautiful person. and an aunt. she loved children. she loved them with a passion. esmin green comes to new york city in 1995, hoping to find work that will allow her to send money home to her six children in jamaica. she was by all accounts heartbroken to be separated from her family for so many years. i think maybe one of the reasons why she clung to other people s children it is because she had left her six children in jamaica. and being without her children filled that void.
according to the medical examiner, esmin green is killed by blood clots that can be caused of long periods of physical inactivity. we have to keep asking ourselves why didn t anybody help. and i m not sure we ll ever know why. we may find out what went on in each individual s mind, you know, each, the security guards, the nurses, the doctor. but, you know, nobody should check their conscience at the door. the hospital has also been accused of falsifying green s medical records. they record that at 6:00 a.m., esmin got up and went to the bathroom, and that at 6:20, she was sitting quietly in the waiting room. but the camera doesn t lie. it bears witness to what was really happening, and how the
she found a second home with the jesus is lord ministries and worked at day-care centers in the area. she was very good in communication with children, as a teacher, a counselor, whatever. and she would always do a good job. but esmin also has to contend with her own demons. she has psychological problems. at times showing dangerous signs of agitation and psychosis. in june 2008, esmin loses her job and is evicted from her apartment. in the early hours of june 18th, she breaks. everything just changed. she changed from one personality into next just as she did. esmin green is out of control, and pastor marilyn johnson calls 911. emergency medical technicians arrive.
nothing was done. at 6:33, a doctor ambles by, looks at esmin, and apparently walks away. at 6:35, a nurse enters the room. she kicks esmin to see if she responds. you know, i m no expert on medical practice, but common sense tells me that medical people ought to have some other tools at their disposal besides kicking somebody who is lying on the floor to find out whether they re dead. after being admitted the day before, esmin has been unattended by the hospital staff for nearly 24 hours. now the nurse alerts others, who finally come to check on her, but esmin is dead.
silent decisions not to act may have led to esmin green s death. since the incident, seven employees have been fired or suspended. in a press release, the new york city health and hospitals corporation, which oversees kings county hospital admits that they, quote, failed esmin green. esmin green s family also sues for negligence and is awarded $2 million in a settlement in 2009. esmin s death has prompted the hospital to institute changes to help prevent tragedies such as esmin s from happening again. staffing has been increased, and waiting times have been significantly reduced. esmin green s death was a needless death, but she didn t die in vain because her death has sparked the reform of conditions at kings county hospital. and hopefully as a result of her death, nobody will ever be