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Missing Livermore man found dazed near Lake MerrittFamily grateful but may sue treatment facilityBy Roman Gokhman, STAFF WRITER 11/06/2007 mirrored here for historical purposes from: http://www.insidebayarea.com/argus/localnews/ci_7276086A Livermore man suffering from a mental condition and liver failure who was missing after he was dropped off at an Oakland homeless shelter was found near Lake Merritt on Saturday.
The family of John Kenneth Wojcik said he was near death when found, and may still not recover from his ailments.
"He's in the ICU and he's very sick," said his mother, Doreen Rakey. "When he was brought in, his body temperature was 81.5 degrees."
Normal body temperature is 98.6 degrees.
Wojcik, 43, was listed in stable condition at the Kaiser hospital in Oakland Monday afternoon, Kaiser Permanente spokeswoman Gerri Ginsburg said.
He was discharged from Casa Phoenix in Hayward on Oct. 18. Corazon Wojcik said when she last saw her husband Oct. 13, she was told by staff members that her husband would be released unless he was transferred to another treatment center.
She said she asked staff to transfer him to another facility.
On Oct. 19, she said she found out that her husband was discharged and dropped off at the City Team men's shelter in Oakland.
From there, John Wojcik left the next morning and was not seen again until Saturday.
Although several phone calls to the Oakland Police Department were not returned Monday, Rakey and Corazon Wojcik, the man's wife, said police were alerted to his location by someone who saw him in the Lake Merritt area.
"I think someone saw some fliers at the BART station and then saw him," his wife said.
Rakey said Wojcik was able to tell officers his name but was otherwise incoherent."(Whoever) found him, God bless them," she said.
Family members have spent time with Wojcik in the hospital since he was admitted and he has slept most of the time, she said.
It is not clear where he spent 16 days after leaving the homeless shelter.
"We're just hoping for the best," Corazon Wojcik said
She said she is still not sure if she plans to pursue a complaint against the medical facility that discharged him.
The company that operates Casa Phoenix under contract with Kaiser Permanente, Concord-based Anka Behavioral Health, Inc., denied the woman's statement that she was not notified that her husband was about to be discharged.
Chris Withrow, the deputy CEO for the company, said previously that staff members followed state and Kaiser rules for discharging the patient.
John Wojcik completed his full course of treatment at Casa Phoenix, and the only way a patient would be taken to a homeless shelter is if the patient's family did not want to take custody of him, Withrow said.
He said the facility follows strict Kaiser Permanente and state guidelines before discharging its patients. The discharge includes a review by a physician, who must determine that a patient is "not at risk."
Casa Phoenix does not provide any primary medical care, so even though Wojcik was suffering from liver failure, he was not treated for it at the facility, Withrow said. His condition was not a factor in his being tagged as "not at-risk" by a physician.
Roman Gokhman can be reached at 925-847-2164 or at rgokhman@bayareanewsgroup.com.
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