Thursday, April 11, 2013

KC, MO hospital refused to recognize gay couple's civil union, power of attorney; had 'disruptive' man arrested for refusing to leave partner's bedside

Update: In a carefully worded statement, hospital denies
it got a restraining order against patient's husband.

 
Now Roger Gorley can't visit his partner at all because after Research Medical Center (816- 276-4000) had him forcibly removed and arrested, it obtained a restraining order against him.
     The hospital said it can't talk specifically about the case — which apparently means that it won't discuss the provenance of its actions, but is willing to call Gorley's partner "disruptive" in a public statement:
“We believe involving the family is an important part of the patient care process,” the hospital said in a statement. “And, the patient`s needs are always our first priority. When anyone becomes disruptive to providing the necessary patient care, we involve our security team to help calm the situation and to protect our patients and staff. If the situation continues to escalate, we have no choice but to request police assistance.”
     Gorley said that even though his husband "has been at the psychiatric unit several times," a nurse attending to him refused to verify that they have had a civil union for five years, make medical decisions for each other, and share joint Power of Attorney.



     In 2010, President Obama instructed his Secretary of Health and Human Services to issue directives to hospitals receiving Medicare and Medicaid funds to respect durable powers of attorney and the choices of patients in choosing visitors. Here's an excerpt:

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