Reports of Polish Man's Deportation Exaggerated, Hospital Says

A flurry of international media attention has been directed at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital with reports of the deportation of a stroke patient to his native Poland, but the hospital says incorrect and exaggerated information is flying around.

Wladyslaw Haniszewski, 69, is an undocumented Polish immigrant who spent the last 30 years in the U.S., and recently was treated at the hospital for a stroke that left him paralyzed on his right side and unable to speak.

Earlier this week, media reports came out claiming that the hospital deported him back to Poland without his consent or knowledge.

Hospital spokesperson Peter Haigney said Haniszewski was awake during the proceedings, not transported unconscious, as has been reported by some news agencies, and that the hospital has been in contact with the hospital in Poland where Haniszewski is now being treated.

The hospital has not publicly released the reason for Haniszewski's deportation, Haigney said.

"Our patient received advanced care at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital’s Comprehensive Stroke Center for a total of 51 days, and was transferred under clinical supervision via a commercial business class flight into the care of qualified emergency medical technicians who accompanied the patient to the hospital," a statement from the hospital read. "The Hospital has completed its initial review of this patient’s transfer and is currently working with the Polish consulate to ensure the patient’s needs continue to be met.

According to a report on Mycentraljersey.com, Jerzy Jedra of the Linden-based Christian Alliance in Defense of Faith in the name of Pope John Paul II, a homeless advocacy group, said Haniszewski's life was saved by the hospital, which provided his care for free.

In recent years, Haniszewski lived in homeless shelters in Perth Amboy and New Brunswick, according to the report.

Polish diplomats are reportedly angered by the move, according to a report in the New York Daily News, and at least one New Jersey elected official has chimed in to say Haniszewski's deportation violated his rights.

“As a country that owes much of its strength to its immigrant population, I fear this may be another in a number of recent incidents that have been fueled by a growing intolerance for immigrants among some of our fellow countrymen and denies too many U.S. residents of the basic human dignity to which we all are entitled as human beings," said Assemblyman John S. Wisniewski (D-19), in a prepared statement.