Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami says they don’t have to allow their patients visitors
ByBelow is an action alert, from the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association. We at Out With Cancer are as appalled as the GLMA, and we endorse this notice.
Janice Langbehn and Lisa Pond, together 18 years, were about to depart from Miami on a family cruise with their three children, when Lisa suddenly collapsed. From the moment Janice and the children arrived atJackson Memorial Hospital, they encountered prejudice and apathy. The hospital refused to accept information from Janice regarding Lisa’s medical history, informing her that she was in an antigay city and state and that she could expect to receive no information or acknowledgment as family. A doctor finally spoke with Janice, telling her that there was no chance of recovery. Despite the doctor’s acknowledgment that no medical reason existed to prevent visitation — and despite the fact that Janice held a durable healthcare power of attorney for Lisa – hospital staff refused to allow Janice or the couple’s children to see Lisa until nearly eight hours after their arrival.
Lambda Legal has filed a lawsuit against JacksonMemorial Hospital, on behalf of Janice Langbehn and her three children. In its response to the lawsuit, the hospital does not dispute Janice’s account of what happened that night. Instead, they claim they did nothing wrong.
Jackson Memorial Hospital’s position – as reflected in black in white and in public documents – is that [1]:
“Defendants owe no legal duty to provide attention to patients’ family members or other visitors.”
“There is nothing within the advance directives statute that would have required doctors or nurses to speak to Ms. Langbehn other than to seek consent regarding a medical procedure that required consent.”
“There is no duty (regardless of a fiduciary relationship) to provide information or visitation to a patient’s visitors.”
As reflected in the legal documents, Jackson Memorial Hospital believes that: (1) they have no obligation to allow their patients visitors; (2) they do not have to allow a healthcare surrogate to actually see the patient on whose behalf they are making healthcare decisions; and (3) that their doctors do not have to share any “particular amount of information” with family members.
The Gay and Lesbian Medical Association (GLMA) is appalled by the hospital’s positions and has established the Committee for Fair Visitation at Jackson Memorial Hospital to ensure that what happened to Lisa and her family doesn’t continue to happen to other patients at Jackson Memorial.
We are calling on the hospital to carry out its commitment to quality patient care by adopting a comprehensive visitation policy that: affirms all patients’ rights to have visitors; includes same sex-partners and their children in its definition of family and/or does not restrict visitors to biological family members; outlines a clear process for determining when visitors will be restricted and how that will be communicated; and includes a grievance procedure that can be acted on quickly in an emergency situation.
Out With Cancer will publish updates on this.
