Anderson Cooper interviewed Janice Langbehn, who was denied the right to see her dying partner, Lisa Pond, by Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami.
From the transcript:
COOPER: What did the -- the President actually called you today. What did he say?The hospital never apologized. Wow. One of our readers, David, saw this and was appropriately outraged. He sent an email to Jackson Memorial asking them to do the right thing and apologize The hospital has changed its visitor policy, but still won't apologize. This is the response he got:
LANGBEHN: That was pretty shocking. He said that he -- apologized for how our family was treated, which is something I have been asking Jackson Memorial to do. They refuse to apologize to me and our children.
COOPER: That's the hospital in Florida.
LANGBEHN: That's the hospital in Florida. They refused to apologize to the kids and I. But the President did which makes up for a lot. And then said that he had directed HHS to this memorandum that he was signing today so that patients could decide who their -- who their family is, who their circle of intimacy was.
And I thanked him. Because I believe this will be Lisa's legacy. That she didn't die in vain.
Thank you for your message to Mr. de la Fè. Jackson Health System has a very liberal visitation policy. Our top priority when a patient arrives in need of emergency medical care is to treat the patient and save their life. We do everything we can to ensure that our patients' loved ones are able to be with them once they are stabilized, as long as having visitors does not compromise their medical treatment or the treatment of other patients nearby. Jackson Health System employs a very diverse workforce that takes pride in delivering quality medical care to everyone. It’s also important to note that we have zero tolerance for discrimination of any kind.Classy, huh? Jackson Memorial should at least apologize. That's the very least the executives of the hospital should do.
Unfortunately, since the matter that prompted your message is currently in litigation, we are unable to express Jackson Health System’s side; however we are confident the facts in the case will clear any misrepresentations of Jackson.
Again, thank you for your comments and concern.
Sincerely,
Eugene Bassett
Interim CEO
Jackson Health System
