Courageous Benton Harbor residents make names public

If you know the history of Berrien County, you know why it takes courage

---The nurses in the ER (not in the entire hospital - our mistake) were all white in the stories told by those who attended the NAACP meeting called by Rev. Pinkney---



Lakeland Hospital in St. Joseph, Michigan has been commonly referred to as "Killer Hospital" by the residents of Benton Harbor. This nickname has prevailed for about eight years.

Here are four more experiences shared at the NAACP meeting last Saturday. Names have been added to stories in the post below this.

1. Mr. Sims, who at this moment is fighting for his life, was a patient at Lakeland, and was misdiagnosed and given the wrong medication. He's now in the hospital in Ann Arbor.

2. Mr. Abdullah: After a simple, non-life threatening operation, he was given a blood thinner by a nurse which caused a blood clot. Abdullah is now unable to walk.

3. Mr. Swife (pronounced Swif) had pain in his arm. A spinal treatment was administered which included a long session of poking up and down his spine. Swife was unable to walk for 4 weeks. A white nurse was everything but friendly towards him.

4. Sally Smith reported for her husband Bradley: Mr. Smith was in ICU - his infection resolved, dyspnea (difficult breathing) unexplained, and surgical procedure to repair his heart valve pending - when he stopped breathing in early morning. He was put on a ventilator and his wife was called. She was treated rudely by a nurse who asked, "What do you want the hospital to do? Pull the plug?"