Texas patient dies after policy slows move to ER

Fort Worth Star-Telegram, May 16, 2008

A mental health patient at Fort Worth, TX-based John Peter Smith Hospital died after the staff summoned an ambulance to take him to the emergency room instead of calling for doctors a little more than five minutes away. The ambulance took 15 minutes to arrive, and the hospital violated state law by its actions, an investigation by the Texas Department of State Health Services found. JPS' policy for emergency care at the psychiatric facility amounted to performing CPR and calling 911, and that was flawed, according to state investigators.