DETROIT (WXYZ) — A Detroit mother says she was denied entry to Henry Ford St. John's Hospital after her 17-year-old son was shot, forcing her to wait outside until she later learned her son died.
Keyion Sadler, 17, was shot on Friday on Detroit's east side. His mother claims hospital staff wouldn't allow her inside while her son was being treated.
Watch the video report below:
"They wouldn't allow her in and not only would they not allow her in, her son had been dead for a few hours before they even brought her inside," said Toson Knight, a youth mentor with Caught Up Youth Mentoring.
This isn't the first time such incidents have been reported at the hospital. Similar situations occurred in April with the mother of 22-year-old Calvin Miller and in June with the mother of 4-year-old Samir Grubbs.
Jasmine Grubbs, Samir's mother, described her experience after her son was struck by a stray bullet at a park on June 27.
"Like, they had no respect," Grubbs said.
According to Grubbs, hospital staff initially allowed her in the room where doctors were treating Samir. She asked if she could stepped out to inform family members about what happened by phone. Security escorted her outside the hospital. She says she was denied reentry.
"The security guards, a few of the staff at the doors like, 'no one can come in.' I'm like what do you mean? My son is the 4-year-old who was shot. I gotta go in. Is he OK? What’s going on? They was like, 'well, you can't go in right now. You gotta go over there.' And we had to go over to the parking deck," Grubbs said.
Grubbs wasn't allowed back in until nearly five hours later, but by then, Samir had already died.
"I never got that final goodbye. My first time seeing my son after leaving him in their care, walking into that hospital and walking back out was at the ME's (Wayne County Medical Examiner) office," Grubbs said.
Previous coverage: Mom speaks out after being denied entry to hospital where son was being treated for gunshot
Knight said he spoke with hospital leadership after a similar incident in April when Diane Orlando was denied entry to the hospital for hours while her son was on life support.
"They assured me that this was not going to be the case, so I was very surprised that Samir's mom, and there's another kid out here, Daviyon (Shelmonson-Bey), they would not allow them to see their loved ones. And as it relates to Daviyon, his dad couldn't even get inside, they told him outside," Knight said.
Watch our previous reports after Samir Grubbs and Daviyon Shelmonson-Bey were killed after a shooting at a Detroit park:
Knight expressed frustration with the hospital's policies, saying, "This is the only hospital that I know that consistently denies loved ones from seeing their son or daughter when they have been injured in a shooting or stabbing."
Henry Ford Health responded to these allegations in a statement: "We are deeply troubled and saddened by these claims, and we take them very seriously. It is our mission every day to provide a compassionate, caring, safe and respectful environment for everyone who enters our doors. We are actively investigating these claims and will take appropriate steps pending the outcome of our investigation."
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