Missouri Hospital Issues Another Statement On Arrested Gay Man [UPDATED]

Earlier today we learned that a Missouri gay man had been arrested after refusing to leave his partner's hospital bedside at the demand of the ill man's family. Moments ago the hospital issued another statement on its Facebook page, which has been scrubbed of many complaining comments.

We appreciate your concern and would like to assure you that Research Medical Center puts the care of our patients as our #1 priority regardless of sexual orientation. We support all the communities we serve. We have a long history of commitment to a culture of diversity. Research Medical Center was one of the first hospitals in Kansas City to offer domestic partner benefits, which have been in place since 2005, and we have had a policy specifically acknowledging domestic partners’ visitation rights in place for years.

This was an issue of disruptive and belligerent behavior by the visitor that affected patient care. The hospital’s response followed the same policies that would apply to any individual engaged in this behavior in a patient care setting and was not in any way related to the patient’s or the visitor’s sexual orientation or marital status. This visitor created a barrier for us to care for the patient. Attempts were made to deescalate the situation. Unfortunately, we had no choice but to involve security and the Kansas City MO Police Department.

We would also like to correct the misinformation about a restraining order. There was no issue of a restraining order by the hospital.

The restraining order was reported upon by multiple news sites. I'll try to track down the original source of that claim.

UPDATE: The local Fox affiliate now shows this headline, but no further details are available at this writing.

Good for them for using "husband."

Missouri Man Arrested For Refusing To Leave Partner's Hospital Bedside

A gay man in Missouri has been arrested after refusing to leave his partner's hospital beside when the ill man's family demanded that he be ejected from the premises. Via Raw Story:

Roger Gorley [on the right in this photo] told WDAF that even though he has power of attorney to handle his partner’s affairs, a family member asked him to leave when he visited Research Medical Center in Kansas City on Tuesday. Gorley said he refused to leave his partner Allen’s bedside, and that’s when security put him in handcuffs and escorted him from the building. “I was not recognized as being the husband, I wasn’t recognized as being the partner,” Gorley explained. He said the nurse refused to confirm that the couple shared power of attorney and made medical decision for each other. “She didn’t even bother to look it up, to check in to it,” the Lee’s Summit resident recalled.

The arrested man in now under a restraining order and may not enter the hospital grounds at all. A hospital spokesman has issued a statement.

"We believe involving the family is an important part of the patient care process. 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."

The arrested man says he and his partner were joined in a civil union five years ago. Civil unions, of course, are not legally recognized by the state of Missouri. (Tipped by JMG reader Str8 Grandmother)

RELATED: In 2010 President Obama mandated that any hospital that receives federal funding such as Medicare or Medicaid must allow visitation privileges for same-sex partners.