CHICAGO - A 15-year-old boy who lay bleeding from a head wound just steps away from a hospital could not be rescued -- because rules required that ambulances bring in patients. Frustrated police officers finally carried the fatally wounded Christopher Sercye into Ravenswood Hospital, but he died a short time later. Witnesses at the scene said hospital emergency workers refused to come to Sercye’s aid despite pleas, quoting hospital rules. A hospital spokeswoman simply stated that emergency room personnel were barred from dispensing care outside the hospital. When rules and regulations get in the way of commonsense compassion, it is a sign that hearts have become hardened.
Hard-hearted people need to ask some hard questions. They need to ask themselves, “How would it feel to be handicapped, unemployed, widowed, or terminally ill?” They need to mentally get into the skin of those who are in need.