Dear Editor,

I was at the Georgetown Public Hospital on Sunday afternoon (that is in the weekend prior to Easter) and witnessed the kind of care the hospital provides and I was informed that it happens regularly.

The maternity wards are in one of the buildings on one side of New Market Street and the Theater, the only one (for surgeries) is in one of the buildings on the other side of New Market street. Apparently if one of these pregnant patients needs to have a C-section done to have her baby delivered, she has to walk at least about a quarter to half of a mile, climbing stairs, enduring excruciating pain, from one side of New Market Street to the other side. To make that scene even more gruesome, she is barefooted, has a needle inserted in a vein in one of her hands for saline and she holds the plastic bag with the saline in the other and is accompanied by only a nurse. In addition, she has nothing on except theater clothing, where if she's too fat, parts of her rear are exposed- even though I see that some of them have the backs of it pasted up with paper tape.

What's even worse is that when the baby is delivered, the nurse takes the baby, wrapped up of course, and walks back the same route. This kind of behavior just won't do. I wonder if the officials of this prominent health care institution are aware of these events. It is very disappointing and quite depressing to know that this is the kind of treatment we have to place our hopes in. I know that the public does not pay when they enter the hospital for treatment, but we do contribute through our taxes and we deserve and demand an explanation.

I sincerely hope that this matter will be addressed so that confidence in this organization will be restored.