Lesbian Patient Losing Patience
When Kristen Orbin had a seizure at a Meet In The Middle rally for marriage equality, she had no idea she would be denied the very rights she was marching for.
Orbin was rushed to Community Regional Medical Centre, Fresno, California, after collapsing at the rally which was protesting Proposition 8 on May 30. Orbin’s partner of four years, Teresa Rowe, was denied access to the emergency room and hospital staff reportedly failed to pass on medical information from Rowe about medication that should not have been administered to Orbin.
“Physically I feel fine,” Orbin told local news site MercuryNews.com. “But emotionally I’m just very upset that people have to go through this. We’re not in it to get anything from the hospital other than an apology.”
Rowe has also said that while other patients in the hospital were permitted visitors, she was not allowed to see her partner for over two hours. When Rowe confronted hospital, she was told that it was outside visiting hours and that those patients who had visitors ‘were different’.
The American Civil Liberties Union and the National Centre for Lesbian Rights have become involved in the incident, indicating that discrimination against same-sex couples happens all too often in medical settings. While Rowe is named as her partner’s legal health care agent, the hospital have responded to the claims by saying that staff followed proper procedure – civil liberties groups say procedure needs to change and have given the hospital until June 22 to respond to a formal letter and take steps to stop discrimination.
Rowe told hospital staff that Orbin should not be given Ativan, an anti-seizure drug, but the drug was still administered. While Orbin suffered only a minor migraine from the drug, Rowe says hospital staff blatantly said the message would not be passed on.
“We just couldn’t believe this was happening to us. This was the nightmare that we hoped we’d never have to live through,” Rowe told KMPH news centre.
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