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The mother of a 33-year-old woman killed in a hit-and-run crash on Interstate 40 over the weekend is searching for answers.
Tracy Evans alleges her daughter, Jena Shively, was improperly discharged from WakeMed Raleigh shortly before her death.
Shively was pronounced dead at the scene after Raleigh police officers responded to a crash on the highway near South Saunders Street at 12:15 a.m. Sunday.
Shively was walking in the eastbound lane when she was struck by a passing car that fled the scene and was then hit by other cars, according to police. The investigation is ongoing, and police have not announced any arrests or released any additional details.
Evans is asking why WakeMed discharged Shively on Friday, July 17, nearly two days before her death. She says her daughter suffered from seizures and cognitive deficits due to recent brain surgery and was in and out of the hospital for weeks before her last stay at WakeMed.
“I managed to talk to [Jena] on the phone once during her WakeMed stay and begged her to ask the staff for rehabilitation placement,” Evans said in a phone interview. However, her daughter refused the treatment, Evans said.
Evans shared concerns with The News & Observer about her daughter’s physical state and learned she had been experiencing homelessness and struggling with an addiction. Before this, Shively had been in college; she loved taekwondo and was getting her black belt. She was also close with her younger brother.
“She was thriving,” Evans said. “This is a sweet, upstanding girl who loved people. She was wonderful. She just got left and forgotten.”
Evans mainly wants answers about her daughter’s treatment at the hospital and how WakeMed handles the release of vulnerable patients.
WakeMed’s response
In an emailed statement to The N&O, Kristin Kelly, a spokesperson for WakeMed Health & Hospitals, said the hospital is reviewing the situation but could not comment on a specific patient due to privacy laws.
Before a patient is released, WakeMed works to “identify a patient’s goals and formulate a plan to transition the patient from the acute care hospital setting to home or, if needed, a post-acute care facility,” Kelly wrote.
Kelly said the hospital has a team that will “coordinate outpatient referrals for follow-up care, arrange for needed medical equipment and medications, work with social services providers to address identified housing and food insufficiency, and educate patients and their family members regarding the patient’s care needs once they leave the hospital.”
However, competent adults have the right to determine their own care, she said.
“Self-determination includes the right to decline the discharge plan and the support and resources offered by WakeMed. While sometimes frustrating for a patient’s loved ones, respect for patient autonomy and self-determination is a cornerstone of medical ethics,” Kelly wrote.
As Raleigh police continue their investigation, Evans said she is trying to navigate the aftermath of her daughter’s death. She hopes to raise enough money through donations to cover Shively’s cremation expenses.
