A Massachusetts family is calling for changes after one of their own was discharged from a hospital earlier this month and died attempting to get home.
The family said not only was 69-year-old Rodney Riviello forced to find his own way home despite limited cognitive functions but that when his body was found in Plymouth, he was still holding his hospital discharge paperwork.
His body was found alone in a marsh following an extensive search that lasted for days.
According to WCVB-TV, the family also claims that when Riviello was cut loose from Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Plymouth June 18, none of them were notified.
Sad update… 69-year-old Rodney Riviello, last seen Tues. leaving a hospital in Plymouth, has been found dead “outdoors in Plymouth,” firefighters say
No other details were given about the discovery
His family said he had some memory issues and was a few weeks from his bday pic.twitter.com/wwMfCGmFiL
— Darren Botelho (@DarrenBotelho) June 22, 2024
The man had been treated by hospital staff after he suffered a head injury.
That injury was sustained during a fall and the family said in a statement to WCVB that testing showed Riviello suffered from serious health issues.
"A CAT scan (at the hospital) showed a broken nose, and a hematoma from the fall, and significant cerebral small vessel disease, which is known to cause dementia," the family stated.
"Much to our shock and disappointment, no one ever contacted us or anyone to help a man with no way home,” the statement added.
A representative with Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Plymouth told the news station that the hospital is cooperating with an investigation into Riviello’s death.
The hospital said it gave the man a voucher for a free cab ride but otherwise declined to release a statement.
However, Riviello’s family said he had no wallet or phone and that his capacity to communicate was limited when he left the facility.
His remains were ultimately found about a mile from the hospital that discharged him on Saturday, police said.
Riviello’s daughter Michelle Norris explained that her father had suffered “a series of mini-strokes” which she said had “done some damage to his brain.”
Norris added that when her father left the care of doctors he did not have the “logic and reasoning” that would have been necessary “to make good decisions in order to get himself safely home.”
The family believes Riviello’s death was needless and preventable and plans to speak to at least one local elected official in the near future.
Those mourning the death of a father who was about to celebrate a milestone 70th birthday want to see changes in hospital protocols as it relates to discharging patients with limited cognitive abilities.
Those include "serious safeguards" put in place to prevent such a tragedy in the future for another family.
