Partner kicked out of hospital room

[operafan]

Even in relatively liberal Oregon, this kind of shit still goes on, although the hospital has made it clear that what happened to the guys is not policy and the partner should have been able to stay in the room:

This all started with a hospital visit. The patient, who only wanted to go by his first name of Christopher, was having trouble breathing. So his partner, Patrick took him to OHSU.



As Christopher was laying close to death, Patrick was told he had to leave the room and couldn't believe what the nurse was telling him.



"The nurse said, 'Christopher is very ill. There are some life and death decisions that have to be made and now is not the time for friends to be in the room.' I'm like, 'we don't have any friends in the room,'" recalled Patrick.

http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_042309_news_ohsu_gay_couple.10244ed9a.html

 

[Paws]

How should the nurse know they're partners and homosekshual?

 

[GL]

first off i'm relieved to hear that christopher, the patient is well. but i am curious to know if his partner patrick made it known that they were married/coupled? i get the impression that the staff were not aware of this vital bit of information. what happened was terrible for sure but this seems to come down to lack of or poor communication.

 

[gsdx]

How should the nurse know they're partners and homosekshual?

From reading the entire article, it doesn't mention that he made it known that the two were partners

Nobody bothered to ask.

 

[Horschallen]

It is important to have a living will so you can designate who makes the decisions and you can add in language specifically who is allowed in the room, etc.

 

[gsdx]

I'm sorry, but that's not a valid explanation either

Maybe they do things differently down there but up here it's common for hospital staff to ask your relationship to the patient.

 

[2boyzukuk]

Your next of kin is not defined in law so technically even with living blood relatives if you choose to put down say your next door neighbor as next of kin and they accept the responsibility then its a done deal just be sure to point out on admission who your next of kin is. for those that live in the United Kingdom here is the link to the N.H.S NOK card you can print out and laminate and carry with you http://static.advicenow.org.uk/files/Next_of_Kin003-988.pdf

 

[Alpha1851]

How many times do situations like this have to happen before gay couples learn to protect their rights? Fill out a health care agency form, a health care POA, or one of the other forms that protect your legal rights in these situations. You can find these forms on the legal aid website for your state. Fill them out, get them notarized, give a copy to your fam, your regular docs, and keep one in your wallet at all times. Now you're set.

It's ridiculous that gay marriage is illegal in most states, but until we get there, it's equally ridiculous not to use the tools available to you to protect your rights.

 

[gmoney]

Read the comments following the article. Patrick says they were in the computer system as domestic partners.

According to him, it was just a simple misunderstanding that was corrected. He's not mad, bitter, or anything like that.

 

[Alpha1851]

Read the comments following the article. Patrick says they were in the computer system as domestic partners.

I read it Gmo. Some nurses won't understand what a domestic partner is, some won't think to look in the computer, and some patients might have their parents there who are already stepping in. The legal forms have complete explanations/instructions on them that the hospital staff can read and understand. It's better to carry these in your wallet or at least in the glove box of your car so they're always available. I can see how that would be annoying, but I'd rather be annoyed than have my honey bun sick in the hospital needing major surgery while I had to argue w/ the hospital staff. Of course, that's just my opinion.

 

[bankside]

"There are no friends in the room" would be the polite thing I would say to the media instead of "I ripped the nurse a new asshole and she left the room crying."

 

[SonOfSlobone]

If this happens to anybody else, I would suggest asking if you could talk to a social worker. Most hospitals have them, and they're better trained to deal with non-medical problems than nurses are.

 

[TickTockMan]

Oh, you don't have to tell me twice.

*takes notes*

Check out this thread.

http://www.justusboys.com/forum/showthread.php?t=259013