Photo: Digital Vision
A viral video showing a Black woman screaming in pain as she waits to be admitted at a Dallas hospital while in active labor has sparked outrage online and allegations of medical racism.
In the video, shared by TikTok user Kash, the pregnant woman, identified as Karrie Jones, wailed in pain over a wheelchair as a nurse conducted intake questions at the Dallas Regional Medical Center.
“Y’all treat all your patients like this or just the Black ones?” Kash, Jones' mother, asked as the nurse appeared to ignore her daughter's pain.
At one point during the video, Jones tried to tell the nurse that the baby was “in her a**,” while her mother pleaded, “Are y’all for real right now? Does she have to give birth in a chair?"
Kash noted that Jones was left in the waiting area for "more than 30 minutes," and her grandson was born "12 minutes later."
“The delivery was awful," the grandmother wrote.
Video of the incident has garnered over 54 million views. Social media users expressed outrage over Jones' apparent delay of care, accusing the hospital of discrimination.
"Medical Racism. There is no excuse for this," one TikTok user commented.
"All pregnant women are supposed to go straight to Labor and delivery not the waiting area," another person wrote.
"woowwww….that’s definitely negligence," a third user chimed in.
"She did that on purpose. I’ve never seen a mom in active labor not be rushed into the delivery suites," a fourth person said.
In a statement to PEOPLE, Dallas Regional Medical Center said they are investigating the incident, adding that “the safety, dignity, and well-being of our patients are always our highest priorities.”
“We are committed to providing compassionate, high-quality care to every person who comes through our doors, and we are reviewing this situation to understand what occurred,” the hospital said.
Online reports state that the nurse involved in the incident, identified as LaCrista Vaughn, was fired. The hospital hasn't publicly confirmed Vaughn's termination.
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