Can't walk into the ER? Call 911.

Can't walk into the ER? Call 911.

Siefken parked outside the ER on the ambulance roundabout and, because he couldn’t walk, called the front desk for help. The worker who answered “couldn’t for the life of him understand why someone from Kennewick was trying to get treated in Seattle,” Siefken said. “I tried and tried to explain it to him, but he just wouldn’t listen.” After an argument, Siefken said, the employee told him, “ ‘No, we’re not going to come get you. You’re going to have to call 911 and you’ll have to pay for that.’ ”

Donald Siefken is a 64-year-old Army vet from the Seattle area. He was making a late-night run to the airport so his wife could catch a red-eye flight. Along the way he took a bad step and broke his foot. During the drive to the airpot, his pain increased dramatically and the foot swelled. After dropping his wife off, he headed to the emergency room at the VA hospital and that's when things took an insane turn. Totally insane: Yes, poor Donald Siefken was left waiting outside the emergency room where he was forced to make a tearful call to 911. Firefighters arrived just minutes later and helped him into the emergency room. Listen to his call here:

After the story hit the news, VA representatives are apologizing and looking at changing hospital policy as it relates to emergency help.



“They said they’re sorry and they’re going to change things so this doesn’t happen again,” Siefken added. “That’s all I really wanted.”

You can read more about the VA policy and the response to Donald Siefken's case at the Seattle Times.