HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-10-25 Public Comment - B. Rolfson - Medical Neglect and Prejudice at Bozeman HealthFrom:Bethany Rolfson
To:DLIBSDCOMPLAINTS@MT.GOV
Cc:DLIBSDHELP@MT.GOV; Christopher.Pope@legmt.gov; Bozeman Public Comment; City Desk
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Medical Neglect and Prejudice at Bozeman Health
Date:Wednesday, September 10, 2025 3:44:05 PM
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Dear Respected Members of the Board of Medical Examiners, State Senator, the City ofBozeman, and the Bozeman Daily Chronical
I am reaching out to whoever I can about this, because awareness needs to be raised about
medical malpractice and neglect at Bozeman Health. Just reading reviews and news articlesabout this hospital online, my sister's experience is common and an injustice that could result
in her premature death.
My sister lives in Bozeman and called last night, telling me she had a medical emergency andexplained her symptoms, and they indeed sounded emergency-level.
She went onto say that she called her PCP, and her PCP said she needed to go to the ER.
My sister admitted to me for the first time that her drinking has gotten out of control. She also
for the first time, admitted it to her PCP.
I recognized that this was really hard for her to do as an older sister, and if I'm being honest, abit of a people-pleaser. But for all addicts, this is takes courage. So, I was worried for my
sister, but at the same time I was really proud of her for taking all the necessary steps liketelling me, her emergency contact.
After my sister fessed up to her drinking, her PCP told her that she still needed to go to the
emergency room based on her symptoms.
My sister has worked in healthcare, and my sister told her PCP that she was afraid that thedoctors would dismiss her based on her experience with doctors. So, her doctor ensured her
thar she'd call in advance.
Later that night, my sister called me, crying. Turned out, they triaged her, but the doctor said,"we don't treat this type of thing here." And my sister responded, "Oh, but my doctor told me
to come and said she called the hospital," and the doctor snapped back at her with "well, PCPsjust think they can do whatever they want" and left without informing her of any course of
action besides a CT scan when she just had one a few weeks ago. Then, she was alone for afew hours in the hallway. She asked a nurse if it was busy at the hospital today, and the nurse
responded, "no more than usual."
She said she felt so ashamed because of how she was being treated and felt like she wasn'tgoing to receive adequate care, so she left.
I would have left too, if I had been made to feel that unwelcomed in what is supposed to be a
sanctuary.
A few minutes after leaving, a police officer called her because the hospital called policedirectly to report her for stealing a catheter.
She promptly returned it and apologized.
It wouldn't be such a medical malpractice, had they ran any tests and the doctor hadn't left
with the only thing that they said to her being, "we don't this here."
There's a specific law that makes this exact type of thing illegal, because people have diedbecause of doctors like this one. In Montana of all places, where alcoholism and alcohol-
related deaths are much more commonplace than the rest of the country.
She called me today and told me that the notes her doctor left were inaccurate. He wrote "Itold her about the risk of leaving," which he did not.
Her situation is far from uncommon from this hospital. Another person wrote online that their
parent had pancreatitis and all this emergency room did was drug him up and leave him in anempty lobby for hours. When his children came to pick him up, the hospital said they didn't
know who he was or why he was there. That's just one story online, there are several that readlike obvious medical malpractice and neglect.
Thank you taking for the time to read this,