NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) — An employee at the Newport News Behavioral Health Center says a teen’s pleas for medical care went unheeded in the week before her death.
10 On Your Side first reported last week on the death of Raven Keffer, 17. She spent eight days at the center in late June.
Newport News medics arrived at the center on June 29 to respond to an unconscious and unresponsive patient. A search warrant says while they were there, a staff member pulled aside a firefighter.
SPECIAL REPORT: Investigating teen’s mysterious death
The staff member stated that the patient had been complaining of illness for six days.
10 On Your Side spoke with that staff member. She and other sources have said that Raven’s pleas for medical help during her time at the center went unheeded.
They say she was unsteady on her feet, was throwing up, and even throwing up blood. The staffer says on the day Raven died, she told her supervisors that Raven needed emergency care right away, beyond the scope of what the behavioral center could provide.
She also told us that medics were not called until three hours later. The staffer, who has more than 15 years experience in health care, says by the time medics arrived, Raven had no vital signs and was gasping for air.
They transported her to Mary Immaculate Hospital and she died later that night.
The CEO of NNBHC said in a statement to 10 On Your Side that although the staff can handle medical emergencies, the facility is not a medical-surgical hospital.
The medical examiner is still deciding what caused Raven’s death.
10 On Your Side will stay on this story and continue to bring you any updates.