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.The restraining order was reported upon by multiple news sites. I'll try to track down the original source of that claim.
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.
UPDATE: The local Fox affiliate now shows this headline, but no further details are available at this writing.
Good for them for using "husband."
Labels: hospital rights, LGBT rights, Missouri