Funeral Held Sunday for Woman Who Died Ignored at Brooklyn Hospital

By Anna Boyd
13:45, July 7th 2008

The woman whose death was caught on a surveillance tape at Kings County Hospital Center shocking New York officials and people will be transported and buried in her birth country of Jamaica after a funeral was held for her Sunday at the Jesus is Lord Sanctuary in Canarsie.

Esmin Elizabeth Green, 49, left Jamaica ten years ago for New York hoping to find a better life and most of all hoping to provide her family from home enough money for a decent life. Green was the mother of six children, the youngest now 14 and the oldest 31.

The woman was struggling with losing her job at a day care center and had been forced to move out of her apartment days before being admitted involuntarily at the Brooklyn hospital on June 18.

She was showing signs of agitation and psychosis, but she was left waiting in the emergency room for nearly 24 hours because the hospital had no beds available at that time. After a day of terrible struggle, she fell off her chair at 5:32 am on June 19. She was being left on the floor for an hour, in which time a security guard and a staff member did nothing to help her although they were clearly seeing what was going on with her. When finally staff members decided to help her, there was nothing much to be done. She was dead.

The cause of her death is still being investigated. Only four staff members were fired, including the hospital’s director of psychiatry and the head of security, and two were suspended. The city is investigating whether to press criminal charges.

Reverend Hopeton Allman, who knew Green for the past three years, had only good words about her. "What I know is that she is a mother who really cared about her children. She was a very friendly person who was liked by everyone, but she was very straightforward,” he said as quoted by the Jamaica Observer.

He continued by saying that Green’s children have been devastated by the loss of their mother. Four family member, including Green’s daughter and sister flew to the U.S. on Friday to attend the memorial service held for Green at the Jesus is Lord Sanctuary in Canarsie.

Green’s body will be transported to Jamaica on Tuesday for the funeral service that will be held at the Duxes SDA Church next Sunday. The city of New York will support costs of the funeral arrangements.