To Editor,
On July 21st, 2017 my god daughter Princess Yates was taken to JFK Hospital in the early morning hours from an accident that happened around the Capital Bypass/Crown Hill section.
According to several eyewitnesses, she was refused treatment because she had no money on her.
As a Liberian who presently lives in the America, I am so abhorred that such a thing can happen in a country that we thought was coming together after years of civil war.
How doctors and nurses at one of the big hospitals could let a child die because they wanted money first before treating her.
Even though they were told that the child is an American and that her family will recompense them, they still refused.
Didn’t these people take oaths to treat people regardless of if they can pay or not?
I know Liberia isn’t America where anyone can walk into the ER and get free treatment; however we as human beings need to have hearts when it comes to fellow human beings.
My sister left her family here in America after serving the Liberian community as President to go home to help disadvantaged children and orphans from the Ebola virus.
All the sacrifices she made for that country went unnoticed and staffs at JFK let her precious daughter die because she had no money on her.
Sad! I am beyond words that such a thing is happening and we have a government in place.
I lived in Liberia prior to the war and I must say, we were people that cared for others in the whole of sub-Sahara Africa, and now we can look at another person badly injured in a car accident and leave her unattended because of money?
Have we gotten so cold because of what the war did or was these the kind of people we were all along?
Mr. Editor, I am writing to you because I really want you bring this to the attention of the Liberian people that this sort of thing is happening and has been happening in our society and everyone is turning a blind eye to it. I see this sort of thing in movies, but didn’t know it was actually done.
It has hit home, my precious god daughter, who only went home to celebrate her grandmother 90th birthday for the first time, died senselessly because staffs at JFK refused to treat her.
The American Embassy will be notified about this negligence. Everyone is looking for some sort of bribe to sustain him or herself that a human life does not matter if money is not exchanged.
Mrs. Oretha Bestman Yates has been a pillar in Liberia since she left her family here.
The Care Heart Africa Inc NGO she formed after the Ebola outbreak has done so much for the community and beyond.
With help of others, she took a large container with food items and medical items, works with gender ministries and tries to help young girls that are sexually exploited.
I say all this not because I wanted Princess (the deceased) to get special treatment, but to highlight that some people still do have a heart for the country even when they are not getting paid . We have to do better than this.
I am beyond furious and hurt that a child who had so much potential, just graduated and had her whole like ahead of her had to die so senselessly all because of money.
The government should do something about this, so this doesn’t happen to another family.
All I can say is JFK hospital has blood on their hands and this is not the end of this story. I will pursue it and expose them for who they are.
Thank you for giving me this chance to vent my grievances.
Aimee Morris Wernicki,
[email protected]