Our county hospital finds itself in a hot spot over procedures they evidently performed while working for the feds.
El Chuqueno provided this link to an out of town article about the mess.
The hospital is trying to calm the waters. Our El Paso Times wrote about a press release from the hospital board and CEO. You can read the article here.
Medical care?
The hospital’s statement tries to make this look like the woman needed medical care. What they evidently did to her was not medical care. It was part of an investigation — one that was evidently against her will. They said:
“Our team of providers has just one focus – to take care of the sick and injured. When people come to or are brought to our Emergency Department, we mobilize whatever resources are necessary to stabilize their condition.”
Yes, I would agree that the hospital does an admirable job with the sick and injured.
What happened here had nothing to do with being sick or injured. Some people that work for our governments have forgotten that their responsibility is to the citizens — they think that they can do anything in the name of official business.
Who pays
According to the stories the lady was presented a bill for the “services”.
That doesn’t wash either. When you are in police custody the medical bills are the responsibility of the agency detaining you. The hospital certainly knows this.
The issue with the bill is another example of how some government employees forget who they are.
Rock and a hard spot
The hospital finds itself in an awkward position.
They need to denounce what has happened or face the loss of public confidence. Are we safe in that hospital?
On the other hand if they back off now are they agreeing that the lawsuit has merit?
The hospital board needs to act decisively here. So do the county judge and commissioners since the hospital is their responsibility.
We deserve better
Brutus
elpasospeak 
I’m reminded of the untraversed line that was crossed when a certain administration of our country decided it was “legal” to submit people to torture. This country will never be the same again and will never regain it’s humanitarian status again as long as this policy continues. The county hospital has crossed a similar line here and has a choice to make now that this inhumane, invasive, and despicable “common practice” has been exposed for all the world to see. I find both horrific and demented actions of a supposedly “civilized” people and supposedly “educated” professionals.
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Assuming that the ACLU did not take on a case that was likely not true, there are so many horrors here it would take many pages to consider them all. But speaking as a victim of forcible rape, what strikes me most is that this was a sexual assault, a rape, committed by agents of the US government against a helpless citizen,who was according to the original story in handcuffs. Second, what kind of medical personnel allow themselves to behave in this way? There is no possible argument that this prolonged assault on this woman was for her health and wellbeing. I will never allow myself to be taken to UMC for emergency care unless and until the hospital is absolutely cleaned of all such doctors and it has a strict policy that anal and vaginal searches at the behest of law enforcement are not allowed. The CBP officers and hospital then colluded to try to force this woman to give retroactive consent, using the threat of a large hospital bill as inducement. To her great credit she resisted – and UMC then supplied the bill! DISGUSTING. This goes way beyond the two doctors involved to the entire administration.
There is clearly something rotten at UMC and I will never vote for any increase in funds for this institution until it is reformed – if that is possible.
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It is interesting that a lady from Albuquerque was given similar abuse when she was stopped in Deming for a minor infraction. I believe it was the Border Patrol that took her to local doctors to perform unauthorized body searches on her, and they refused to do the searches. The poor lady was then taken to Silver City, NM and the hospital up there stripped her naked, performed body cavity searches, enemas, radiographs, blood tests, and the like in hopes of finding drugs or other contraband on her. She was then handed a bill for over $5000.00. This kind of abuse from our federal agencies is totally uncalled for, and it is another form of our liberties being stripped away by the federal government.
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One could be under the influence or one could be carrying…and there may be acceptable ways of checking for these, but most of these “techniques” in question constitute a total disregard for privacy, human, and civil rights. Whatever happened to unreasonable search and seizure. Are intelligent, educated professionals and para professionals giving up their common sense and humanity to the dogs?
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The medical facilities and so-called professionals , who ignore the “first do no harm” code and do these sadistic things on behalf of law enforcement, share as much and possibly even more of the blame. But we all know that the healthcare industry is more focused on profit than people these days. If they don’t collect from the individual, they will bill the federal government and the taxpayers will pay for these inhumane actions just as we continue to pay for torture and false imprisonment.
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I was sickened when I read that story initially and I tagged it and sent the URL to major news outlets like the NY Times and Washington Post in the hope it would get some wider coverage than it has. I keep naively believing that a sense of public outrage can result in change, and then I look at what has happened here (and continues to happen) in CC and the County and school districts and I realize that it is hopeless. The agenda is set and we are going to pay them. We can’t even stop the robbery by our government at home, so how are we going to stop them from raping us in a public hospital?
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