A man diagnosed as mentally incompetent escaped from an Atlanta hospital for over 24 hours before being found, Channel 2 Action News reported.
Now his family is wondering why he was missing for hours before the hospital notified them.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Paul Smith, 50, wandered away from Wellstar Atlanta Medical Center South in East Point on Monday afternoon, and he was found Tuesday afternoon nearly four miles away on Donnelly Avenue, Channel 2 reported.
Smith’s family told the news station he’s been diagnosed as mentally incompetent, has congestive heart disease and is suffering from kidney failure. However, he somehow managed to walk out of the hospital around 3:06 p.m. Monday, which surveillance video allegedly shows.
Randy Tharpe, who lives along Donnelly Avenue, found Smith walking down the street still wearing a heart monitor and an IV, the news station reported.
“When I walked up, he was quite disoriented,” Tharpe told Channel 2. “He constantly did not let go of the door knob. I said, ‘Can I help you?’ He said, ‘I live here.’”
Smith told Tharpe he lived at the house with his mother, but she died in 1999, the news station reported.
Smith’s family thanked Tharpe for finding him and calling police, but they’re livid that the hospital didn’t contact them until he had been missing for two hours.
“I think the first thing you do when you find out is call the police then the family,” Shaketa Sims, a family member, told Channel 2.
East Point Police and the family said that’s not what happened. Two hours after Smith went missing, his daughter got this voicemail:
“Hey, I’m calling for Atlanta Medical South Campus. Mr. Smith — we are not able to find him. His bag is in the room. He was walking around (inaudible) ... we can’t find him. So I just wanted to let you know just in case he contacts you. Let us know.”
The family said they rushed to the hospital, and nurses wouldn’t give them a straight answer on how Smith escaped.
“It’s not fair to the family. It’s not fair at all, because if anything happened to him, it’s because of the nurses not doing their jobs,” Sonya Johnson, a family member, told the news station.
The hospital sent a statement to Channel 2 that said:
“The safety of our patients, visitors and employees is our top priority. When one of our patients left the hospital yesterday, we contacted his family. We are working with local authorities.”
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