Alena Wells could have entered the world surrounded by her family and medical professionals.
Instead, she was born on Nov. 16 in the front seat of a Chevrolet Silverado as her father, Leon Wells, rushed from one Indiana hospital to another.
Wells was driving away from Franciscan Health Crown Point, the hospital that he says discharged his wife while she was in active labor. His mother-in-law filmed the exit in astonishment.
Franciscan Health President and CEO Raymond Grady has acknowledged that Alena's mother, Mercedes, was discharged just moments before she gave birth. Grady said a doctor and nurse lost their job; the hospital publicly apologized; and Grady promised policy changes and cultural competency training for all labor and delivery staff.
“There was no kind of care, no type of empathy,” Leon Wells, 43, of the Chicago suburb of Dalton, told USA TODAY on Nov. 22. “No type of concern for my wife as a human being.”
