The mother of a mentally ill woman who was escorted from a Baltimore hospital into freezing temperatures earlier this month is speaking out, saying her daughter was denied access to her medical rights.
Cheryl Chandler said Thursday at a press conference that her daughter, Rebecca, 22, faced life-threatening conditions after she was guided by employees at the University of Maryland Medical Center’s Midtown campus into the frigid weather on Jan. 9 to a nearby bus stop, wearing only a hospital gown and socks.
Chandler said her daughter had gone to the hospital after serving a psychological breakdown. She became aware of Rebecca’s plight after happening to see a passerby’s video that went viral. The video showed the visibly disoriented woman being guided to the bus stop by hospital security staff.
“I was crushed. No mother wants to see their child like that,” said Chandler, who was accompanied by attorney J. Wyndal Gordon, during an HLN interview.
She added that her daughter, now in her care, is coming along but still has a long road to a full recovery.
Gordon said Rebecca has been severely harmed as a result of being tossed out into the cold.
“They exacerbated her preexisting psychiatric emergency medical condition,” Gordon said. “They failed to screen and treat her. Instead, they opted to dump her at a bus stop half-naked, and we find that to be beyond reprehensible. We believe that it’s criminal and violates criminal statutes that talk about vulnerable adults. They left her to die.”