1/5 Dave B. 3 years ago on Google
WARNING.
My
partner
of
13
years
died
in
Huntington
Hospital
after
being
admitted
via
ER
with
a
life-threatening
strep
infection
of
his
teeth
which
had
entered
his
bloodstream
and
causing
heart
problems:
endocarditis.
He
had
Medi-cal
insurance
to
cover
both
the
necessary
oral
surgery
and
the
follow-up
heart
surgery.
The
hospital
provided
Dr
Tiner
to
do
the
dental
work,
and
Dr.
Cohen
to
lead
the
cardio
team.
Dr.
Tiner
refused
Ross'
insurance,
and
said
we
would
have
to
prepay
before
he
would
perform
the
teeth
extractions.
Why
did
he
not
accept
Ross'
dental
insurance/
I
discovered
some
days
later
that
Dr.
Tiner
is
not
a
licensed
dentist
or
oral
surgeon,
but
a
plastic
surgeon.
Why
did
Huntington
Hospital,
a
Medi-cal
partner,
then
provide
a
plastic
surgeon
who
cannot
or
would
not
take
Medi-cal
dental
insurance?
I
have
yet
to
hear
an
explanation
for
that.
Ross
complained
to
Dr.
Cohen,
the
lead
cardiologist,
about
Dr.
Tiner.
Dr.
Cohen
acknowledged
that
there
had
been
problems
with
Dr.
Tiner
in
the
past,
but
that
he
was
a
fine
surgeon,
and
he
was
the
only
one
the
hospital
uses.
(However,
I
found
out
later
Huntington
does
list
a
licensed
oral
surgeon
on
their
website.)
In
any
case,
nothing
came
of
Ross'
complaint.
We
were
left
to
scrounge
up
the
payment
demanded
by
Dr.
Tiner,
and
no
other
arrangements
were
offered.
Why
did
Dr.
Cohen
not
step
in
and
advocate
for
Ross?
I
have
yet
to
hear
an
explanation
for
that.
It
took
us
a
week
to
be
able
to
come
up
with
the
payment
in
full,
but
by
then
complications
had
set
in
and
neither
the
dental
nor
the
heart
operations
could
be
done.
Ross
was
put
on
life
support
and
Dr.
Cohen,
who
had
done
nothing
to
urge
Dr.
Tiner
on,
tried
to
persuade
me
to
let
Ross
die
now.
I
wouldn't
do
that
prematurely.
Dr.
Cohen
assured
me,
"It
won't
be
premature."
Could
he
have
been
any
more
condescending,
knowing
that
surgery
had
been
delayed
for
a
week
for
payment
in
advance,
and
he
had
done
nothing
to
spur
Dr.
Tiner
to
action
nor
to
provide
another,
properly
licensed,
oral
surgeon?
Ross'
insurance
plan
would
have
covered
all
the
procedures
100%
but
it
was
worthless
because
after
admitting
Ross
via
the
ER,
the
hospital
provided
a
plastic
surgeon
instead
of
a
licensed
oral
surgeon,
and
the
lead
cardiologist
did
nothing
about
it
when
the
patient
asked.
When
I
questioned
how
the
hospital
could
allow
a
plastic
surgeon
to
postpone
an
emergency,
life-saving
operation
for
payment
in
advance,
Dr.
Enriquez
(from
Palliative
Care)
explained
with
a
straight
face,
"That's
standard
procedure."
Really?
Huntington
Hospital's
"standard
procedure"
in
an
emergency
is
to
delay
treatment
for
a
week
until
payment
is
made
in
full,
and
contracts
with
a
specialist
(a
plastic
surgeon!)
instead
of
a
licensed
oral
surgeon
or
dentist?
The
hospital
chaplain
gave
a
better
answer,
calling
Dr.
Tiner's
actions
"unconscionable,
indefensible."
Amazingly,
the
day
after
I
refused
to
accept
Dr.
Cohen's
recommendation
to
let
Ross
die
now,
Dr.
Tiner
showed
up
and
extracted
the
infected
teeth,
even
though
Ross
was
now
on
life
support,
on
a
ventilator,
and
Dr.
Cohen's
advice
24
hours
earlier
had
been
to
cease
treatment!
I
paid
for
those
extractions
out
of
pocket
so
that
Ross
could
have
the
necessary
heart
operation
to
follow.
The
idea
was
that
Ross
would
be
able
to
submit
a
claim
for
reimbursement
to
his
insurance
plan
after
he
was
discharged.
But
because
Ross
died,
the
medical
records
are
unavailable
to
me
now.
I
have
no
proof
that
the
operation
I
paid
for
took
place,
and
I
am
unable
to
submit
a
claim
for
reimbursement.
Legal
perhaps
but
unethical.
Dr.
Cohen,
Dr.
Tiner
and
Dr.
Enriquez
destroyed
any
faith
and
trust
I
once
had
in
Huntington
Hospital.
I've
never
seen
an
organization
go
into
CYA
mode
so
quickly.
If
this
is
"standard
procedure"
at
Huntington
Hospital,
take
heed.
Go
anywhere
else.
Huntington
Hospital
contracts
with
the
government
to
accept
Medicaid,
Medicare
and
Medi-cal,
but
that
doesn't
mean
the
doctors
they
assign
to
you
in
an
emergency
will
accept
those
plans,
and
it
doesn't
mean
they
will
help
you
find
doctors
who
will.
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