ODESSA, Texas — In a press release Thursday, Medical Center Hospital addressed a viral social media post that appears to show a young girl with a plastic bag over her head in an image taken in their hospital.
The post, from a page titled Odessa’s Accountability Project, has been shared on Facebook over 1,000 times. It claims the bag was put on her head when she had trouble keeping a mask on, and it stayed there for 30 minutes.
According to the post, the girl’s mother took her to the hospital because she was short of breath, and she later tested positive for COVID-19.
The page later posted again saying they unfairly made the original post without giving the hospital a chance to fix the issue.
In the release, Medical Center Health System CEO and President Russell Tippin expressed the hospital's focus on patient safety.
“We were pleased to have the mother reach out to us to address the situation,” Tippin said. “Our top priority will always be the safety and care of our patients. We are always willing to listen to our patient’s experiences to better communicate with them to make sure they are comfortable.”
The hospital also reminded the public of their policies and CDC policies, which require masks in their building.
They said they have received death threats due to the image and are working to get to the bottom of them.
“Rest assured, we take all of these threats seriously and are taking appropriate action,” Tippin said. “Under no circumstances will MCH tolerate such threats to staff members, their families or anyone associated with the health system. Our staff have been true heroes for the past 19 months in battling this pandemic and do not deserve the vicious threats spewed by these hateful individuals.”
NewsWest 9 has made contact with the girl's mother. To hear from her mother, watch the video attached above.