Patient
I am writing this review to place on record a serious and unacceptable incident that occurred during my visit to Crouse Hospital in Syracuse, NY. This matter involves not only discrimination and mistreatment but also a blatant disregard for my safety and civil rights as a patient. Upon arriving at Crouse Hospital, I extinguished a cigarette outside on a pole before entering. Immediately, two security guards--one Hispanic male and one white male--engaged with me in a hostile and discriminatory manner. Rather than acting professionally, they refused to allow me access to the hospital. I was told to "walk down the street to another hospital" despite the fact that I was seeking urgent care and was visually impaired at the time of this encounter. The situation escalated when the white security guard made a direct verbal threat of physical violence toward me, stating that he would "jump" me (attack me) if I refused to leave. This type of threat, coming from a hospital security guard whose duty is to protect patients and ensure safety, is absolutely unacceptable and could be considered both harassment and assault under the law. Despite my medical impairment and need for assistance, the guards chose to escalate the situation further by calling the police, who then forced me to leave hospital property. I was therefore denied access to emergency medical care. This action created extreme danger for me, given my inability to see properly and my vulnerable condition. Denying someone care in this manner could constitute a violation of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), which requires hospitals to provide stabilizing treatment to anyone who comes to the emergency department. This experience was not only traumatizing but also discriminatory in nature, raising serious concerns about how Crouse Hospital and its contracted security staff treat patients of color, patients with impairments, and those in need of immediate medical attention. Security personnel are not medical professionals, and they had no legal or moral authority to deny me entry or threaten me with violence. Their conduct was reckless, abusive, and placed me in direct physical danger. I am documenting this incident publicly because patients deserve to know how this hospital handles individuals seeking care. To be denied treatment, threatened with physical assault, and forced into further danger while impaired is a gross violation of trust, safety, and basic human dignity. I strongly urge Crouse Hospital administration, the New York State Department of Health, and federal oversight agencies to investigate this matter fully. This is not a simple customer service complaint--it is a civil rights issue, a patient safety issue, and a potential legal violation under EMTALA and other protections. No hospital should ever treat patients in this manner.