The family of a 12-year-old girl who died after going to an Urgent Care clinic in Renton during an asthma attack is demanding answers.
They believe Kaloni Bolton is the victim of substandard care.
“I want to fight them all. For justice for Kaloni. Because I can’t sleep. And I haven’t eaten. I’m weak, and I’m missing my baby,” said Bolton’s mother, Kristina Williams.
Bolton’s mother and dozens of other family and friends are demanding to understand how a little girl could now be dead after coming to the North Benson Urgent Care clinic in Renton during an asthma attack.
“She was a 12-year-old baby that came here for help, and she didn’t get help. What she got was a death sentence, and she didn’t deserve it,” said Bolton’s aunt, Francis.
It was Dec. 29. Bolton’s sister first took her to the urgent care clinic at Renton Landing.
“Once they got to the Landing, what happened was shocking. It was shocking because they turned her away,” said civil rights lawyer James Bible.
And directed Bolton to the North Benson clinic. Bible said it took a half-hour before Bolton was seen. By that time, the family said she was in bad shape. They claimed a nurse tried to give her oxygen, but the tank was empty. Then they got another tank. But the family believes the medical staff didn’t know how to work it.
“She told her big sister, ‘I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe.’ As she repeated her sister’s name over and over again, her eyes rolled to the back of her head. Her skin started to turn purple,” Bible added.
Bolton was transported to Seattle Children’s Hospital, where she was on life support for two days before she died.
The NAACP alleges that what happened to Bolton is a tragic reminder of the systemic racism in the health care industry.
“What these folks did to Kaloni was no different than what the Minnesota cops did on the neck of George Floyd,” said Gerald Hankerson, president of NAACP Alaska Oregon Washington State Conference.
“I can’t stand to sit here and let these people do this again to anyone else because Kaloni should be here. Yes, she should,” added Williams.
KIRO 7 reached out to Valley Medical Center, which is in charge of both urgent care clinics. A spokesperson said they are mourning Bolton alongside the family. She said the center isn’t denying the family’s version of events, but it needs to do a full review before it can comment. KIRO 7 also asked if any staff members who treated Kaloni that day have been placed on leave. The spokesperson said all three providers who saw Bolton that day are still working.