JPS debate hinges on whether a door had locks

County commissioners say they want to see some changes at JPS in response to a Star-Telegram series about problems at the public hospital.

But at a county meeting earlier this month, County Commissioner Gary Fickes questioned the accuracy of the Star-Telegram series and singled out one anecdote in particular.

June Kelly of Euless alleged that in October 2006 she was locked in a conference room in JPS' Bedford clinic for about an hour without explanation. Fickes said a doctor at the clinic recently showed him the room where Kelly was allegedly placed, and the doors had no locks.

Fickes' comment struck a nerve with Kelly. She returned to the Bedford clinic last week to see for herself. She tried to enter the room that she says she was locked in. She said she couldn't get in.

It was locked.

It appears that is unclear if Fickes was shown the same room that Kelly claims she was locked in.

-Darren Barbee and Aman Batheja

Comments

[Ronny Amir Adamez]

These commissioners are shameful, trying to cover up for Frankensteinians behavior of doctors and nurses. The lady was locked up and mistreated, as she said she was. Commissioner Gary Fickes looked like a fool picking and being shown the wrong door by a wayward doctor.

[marc auer]

Insert from previous article-

When she visited a JPS clinic in Bedford in October 2006, a woman guided her to a conference room. Kelly said she was locked inside without explanation and kept there for about an hour until a JPS police officer arrived. The entire time, she was separated from her service dog, Pumpkin, who can alert her when she is about to have a seizure.

"I feel like they treat us like we're dirt," Kelly said.

The police officer told her she was accused of tampering with her blood test paperwork, she said. Baffled and angry, Kelly said she'd done no such thing and the matter was dropped.

She later complained to JPS officials that she had been falsely imprisoned.

JPS officials told the Star-Telegram that they could not locate a police report concerning the incident, and they asked the attorney general to bar release of other records in the case.

But the Star-Telegram listened in on a phone conversation between Kelly and Pablo Guzman, the clinic's director. Guzman, who was not involved in the incident, told Kelly, "I probably [would] have handled things differently."

In April, Kelly received a letter dated Dec. 21 from John Hayes, director of guest services, informing her that a grievance committee had reviewed her allegation.

"The committee found no supporting documentation, records or statements to support your position that you were falsely imprisoned or arrested," Hayes wrote

[Tyrone V. Lewis]

Let me start this by saying that I am enrolled in J.P.S. Connection, and have been for almost 3 years. This is a very difficult
and cumbersome system to deal with, while it is a far shot better than nothing. I have seen and experienced a lot of things detailed in the Star Telegram report and more. What is more disturbing to me than what I see going on in the J.P.S. system is the Tarrant County Commissioners'
seeming unawareness of these long entrenched policies and issues. Please don't misunderstand me, there are some very good doctors in this system. The system in my opinion, does not do them justice either. I can understand being a Tarrant County Commissioner means a lot of long days and short nights, but I hope you understood that when you took the position. I would love to tell you more but today is Tuesday and I have a J.P.S. appointment Friday that I have to prepare for. You know how it is, get ready to "hurry up and wait."