I understand @IntelletualRN's point (and thank you for what you and your associates do in what are sometimes impossible situations).

Our system makes it difficult for even insured, financially sound people to get mental health treatment, so the options for what to do with an uninsured poor person are slim. To top it off, many Christian sects are pushing the belief that being poor, mentally ill, or addicted is a "choice", so why should they be helped? All that Christian charity is mind-boggling, isn't it?

However, the video I saw was pretty clear that this woman wasn't sound, so surely there must be some alternative to putting her out in the street like that. Social services? The police?

For the record, the circumstances under which a physician may essentially rob a person of autonomy and order them restrained physically and/or chemically and hospitalized against their will are very limited. As nice as the straitjacket (not something we use) to psych admission option sounds, it's not that easy. And I haven't even mentioned the issue of psych bed availability....

Nothing left to add. Things are bad here.

R eally sad-why didn't they call social services? Negligent hospital. Catholic hospital by any chance?

The clip I saw said she was unruly so they put her out. However, the hospital still said she should have been dressed completely before removal. They even claimed she'd already had medical care and been released. Didn't seem she was cognizant enou gh to be on her own.

And yet they have no problem buying bombs ,,,,,,

First, I'm 100% for universal healthcare. Second, I'm an emergency nurse who has, when in charge of the department, had to have security or police remove people from the property. The circumstances of this particular incident are not entirely clear so any judgment is premature, but I would like to give some insight into our world. At my hospital, we don't throw someone out in the cold without a damn good reason. When it gets cold, part of the department essentially acts as a shelter. We do have clothing to give discharged patients and would never send them out in a gown unless they refused the offer. They would have to be threatening or, worse, assaulting staff to be kicked out. I started Nurses' Week last year taking a punch to the face. There are people who are beyond reason and act in ways that defy logic. One of my favorite attending physicians had someone spit in his face just last night. There is another side to this that may never be able to come out publically due to that patient's right to confidentiality.

I'm curious if the hospital was religiously affiliated.

I saw that, and am following the story to see what becomes of it.
I totally agree with you about Universal healthcare.
People from Norway, Sweden, Iceland, and Finland aren't staying around when they come here because we have nothing to offer them for them to stay, but look at their education, their pay, their prison systems, their energy systems and their healthcare and benefits that they get for their tax dollars.
This is something that we as Americans need to take a long hard look at and try to model the same kinds of goals