A HOSPITAL has defended its care of a woman who died shortly after she was arrested while insisting she needed further medical attention.
Lisa Edwards, 60, died of a stroke in the back of a police cruiser after being discharged from the Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Police were called to the medical center on February 5 when Edwards refused to leave the facility after being discharged.
She was arrested and was being taken to Roger D. Wilson Detention Facility to be booked on trespassing charges, but collapsed in the back of the police vehicle.
The Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center has since conducted an internal investigation into her death, with the findings released this week, AP reported.
The care the hospital provided was "clinically appropriate," the report said, according to WVLT.
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But the Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center in Knoxville, Tennessee, is now reviewing its security procedures.
“These findings affirm our confidence in the dedicated doctors, nurses and staff who provide excellent care to hundreds of Fort Sanders Regional patients every day," the reports said.
Some of the security personnel involved with this incident, however, no longer work at the hospital.
A new empathy training program has also been enacted for the facility's security staff.
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Four Knoxville Police Department officers were called to the medical center on February 5 and spent 25 minutes trying to have Edwards step into a police vehicle, which she repeatedly said she couldn't.
She later collapsed in the back of the vehicle while the officer she was with was conducting an unrelated traffic stop.
“I don’t know if she’s faking it or what, but she’s not answering me," the officer said, according to AP.
An autopsy determined that Edwards' death was not caused by her interaction with law enforcement.
This is why the Knox County District Attorney’s Office declined to press criminal charges.
But the Knoxville Police Department is currently conducting its own internal investigation into the conduct of these officers.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the department at (865) 215-7255.
The hospital and the police department did not immediately respond to the U.S. Sun's requests for comment.
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