Hospital issues apology (Husband wanted no blacks in delivery room)

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.timesherald.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=10267456&BRD=1672&PAG=461&dept_id=33380&rfi=6

A suburban Philadelphia hospital apologized to employees because supervisors complied with the demand of a pregnant patient's husband that no black employees assist in the delivery of his child.

Supervisors at Abington Memorial Hospital agreed to prevent black employees from entering the patient's hospital room for several days last month, a decision called "morally reprehensible" by hospital president Richard L. Jones Jr.

Meg McGoldrick, the hospital's vice president, said the supervisors sought to avoid a confrontation by keeping certain staff members - including doctors, nurses and service employees - from interacting with the man and his family.

McGoldrick said the hospital was "wrong" to accommodate the man's wishes and should have followed its own policy, which mandates that care be "provided on a nondiscriminatory basis."

Saw a few minutes ago this story reported on CNN so went searching for the story. I'm sorry to see this happened in my home state of PA -though on the other side of the state(East). They should've told this stupid Freeper to go home and deliver his own kid if he didn't want blacks in the room.

[SharonAnn]

1. OMG, these people are breeding! There'll be no end to it all.

eom

[VolcanoJen]

5. No kiddin', SharonAnn!

Sheeeeeeeesh.

:-(

[Momof1]

2. I bet the hubby would of let Rush in.

Yes I am embarrassed too, I hate it when these things happen in PA.

[The Zanti Regent]

35. That's why I left Klansylvania

Outside of Pittsburgh and Philly, Klansylvania is filled with these White Trash types.

that's why I left, with no regrets

[dArKeR]

64. Limbaugh was the father making the demand and Coulter was in labor

[FlemingsGhost]

3. Ah... Philadelphia: "The city of brotherly love." (n/t)

Dems

[Teaser]

78. Wasn't Philadelphia

It was in Abington, a very suburban suburb. Pretty rich, upper middle class.

I can't imagine that actually happening in Philly. Not even in Chestnut Hill.

[salin]

4. a response to racist hubby

Sorry sir, you may choose to go to another hospital, but they are likely to also employ African Americans. Perhaps you might have been best served had you contracted with a white midwife and birthed at home where you could control who would be involved in the delivery.

stupid racists.

[soupkitchen]

6. How did he feel when his baby was black?

[chasqui]

45. OFFTOPIC FLAMEBAIT!!!

:spank:

[buff2]

7. What a crock!

Khrist,there must be more dumb freepers than we could ever have imagined.I can't believe the number of bigoted racist facists that are breathing the same air as we do. That is totally disgusting and unacceptable.That hospital should have told that ignorant SOB to take his wife and his ass out of there....PROMPTLY! Let her have her kid in a back alley for demanding such a despicable request. :grr:

[shrdlu]

8. The more things change...

...A segment of this week's PBS series on The Blues had some elderly black musicians relating how they once played a club which featured a white stripper. Management put up a sheet between the musicians and the dancer. Thus was the sanctity of white womanhood protected.

[jiacinto]

9. A difficult decision

On the one hand this decision is reprehensible. Then, on the other, given how the condition of the patient may very well have been compromised by having this argument and fight, the hospital may have been thinking that way.

I don't support the decision. However, if lives were at stake and the condition of the patient had been critical, having an argument over race might have negatively impacted the care.

[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

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[Mika]

20. Yes. Unbelievable

How do you think the couple got into that hospital for the delivery? Out of the blue? This was not an emergency case, because, if it were, NO reasonable person would make a racist demand if their baby's life depended on it, and NO reasonable ER or ob/gyn doctor would find this acceptable in an emergency.

The delivery facilities in the hospital as well as nursing staff and anesthesiologists are reserved well in advance and coordinated by the ob/gyn and staff.

For the father to pull this shit upon entering the delivery facility is unacceptable, and even more so IF it was arranged in advance along with the other arrangements.


There is no justification for this. It figures that you'd try to find one. :puke:

I seriously hope that you're not getting into medicine.

[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

28. Deleted message

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[jiacinto]

29. No there isn't an acceptable circumstnace for racism

I was just explaining what the hospital may have been thinking.

[atlien]

66. Try Again, homey

I don't know what you were thinking but I hope you eventually get let off the hook. LOL. There are no excuseable reasons for granting that type of request. None, as eloquently stated a couple of posts ago. This is the type of thing that needs to be handled in court.
You can't change peoples' hearts but you can show them that like freedom, ignorance isn't free.

[Name removed]

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[9215]

14. Solution:

Tell the patient to go find another hospital, because "our hospital does not discriminate....."

[Alenne]

15. Not a diffucult decision at all

Black people should not be treated like second class citizens. The hospital should have told him they would not comply and they would not risk his wife's and child's life because of his hatred. I will not be treated like shit because I am black under any circumstances and especially not from my place of employment.

[jiacinto]

16. Look you are misunderstanding what I am saying

All I am saying is that maybe the hospital thought that if they had a full out brawl in the emergency room that the patient in question might suffer medical consequences.

I don't agree with it. Just explaining why it may have happened.

[Alenne]

17. Priorities?

Do you want to risk your life and your child's life because you are a bigot? That decision should have been made by the patient and not the hospital. The hospital does not have an obligation to make sure the patient gets to discriminate.

[jiacinto]

19. Never mind

What I am saying is that maybe the Hospital didn't want the patient to get so emotionally upset to the point where her condition might have been compromised.

[Alenne]

21. That is not the hospital's job

If a patient wants to compromise there condition, let them.

[Lars39]

26. If they thought there was going to be a brawl for not complying with his

demands, that was the time to post a guard by that couple. There's been many arrests made on hospital property for various reasons. One of those reasons is sometimes interference/harrassment of staff.

[jiacinto]

30. I see your point

nt

[georgiann]

32. This occurred over SEVERAL days

"Supervisors at Abington Memorial Hospital agreed to
prevent black employees from entering the patient's hospital
room for several days last month"

I worked labor and delivery for over ten years. As you can see
from the quote above, the patient was there for several days.
This husband probably would have discussed this with his
wife's doctor during her prenatal visits. Then the hospital
would have had plenty of time to comply with this moron's
request. I've worked with some really idiotic doctors who
promise their patients the moon and then expect the staff to
go out of their way to accomodate these people - especially if
they have money. On the other hand, I've been in situations
where the patient, her husband or the family have made demands
(such as wanting to be in the delivery room when the fetus is
crashing) and they've been told in no uncertain terms that
they cannot remain with the patient. In those cases the
doctors backed up the staff nurses. All it takes is someone
with balls to let the husband know that "no" means
"no."

[jiacinto]

33. Ok

Thanks for your post.

[cprise]

40. What a relief we have conservative Dems on DU

I'm so relived.

</sarcasm>

[Speed8098]

73. You screwed the pooch again Carlos

However, if lives were at stake and the condition of the patient had been critical, having an argument over race might have negatively impacted the care.

Bullsh*t!

As soon as the husband opened his mouth, he should've been shown the door.

I can't believe you can find ANY justification for what the hospital did. How would you feel if your boss came to you and told you that you couldn't perform your duties because some white customer didn't want to see your kind working on his case?

Would you be ok with that?

I don't think so.

Personally I don't get it. Why would someone care if African Americans, Asians, Latinos, or any other race, takes care of their health. My main concern is: is this person competent? Race has no bearing on competence.

It's just ignorant to go through life like that.

BTW, I'm white.

[Teaser]

79. Condition of the patient wouldn't have been compromised.

A nice epidural and a good drug cocktail and she wouldn't even know her hubby had been escorted out by 2 guys from security called "Truck" and "Sweetums."

[Zhade]

10. I feel sorry for the newborn kid, with a father like this.

NT!

[kayell]

12. This is a nationwide sickness

and the BFEE constantly plays to the racism barely buried in many white people. We can probably expect to see more of this vile behavior as people feel it is more socially acceptable to show their bigotry.

PS. I'm bookmarking this thread for the next south-bashing thread by people who claim this is a problem only in the south.

[foo_bar]

31. Philly is pretty much the south

At the least it's segregated unlike any other American city. Given the history of "relations" there, this article doesn't really register an uptick on the national hate index.

http://www.sierratimes.com/archive/jj/edjj071400.htm

[kayell]

38. I guess Boston is a southern city too

sS whats the story now? Any city that shows its racist elements will automatically be reassigned as a southern city, to keep up the fiction that these assholes only exist in the south? I suspect some of your prejudices are showing too.

Face it, racism is wide spread throughout this country. Believing that it only occurs in the south is actually helping to perpetuate the bigotry that much of this country is guilty of.

[Maddy McCall]

46. Yes, Kayell, you are 100% right.

How offensive to call a state Southern just because its residents demonstrate racism. Regional snobbery is just about as offensive as racism is.

[foo_bar]

50. how offensive to lack reading comprehension

The operative word is "segregation", not "racism".

And Philadelphia's a city, not a state, speaking of regional ignorance.

On edit: if "regional snobbery" is "just about as offensive" as "racism", then you clearly haven't experienced racism.

[Maddy McCall]

58. HAHAHA!

Boy did I hit a RAW NERVE with you. Segregation IS racism, and regions are not limited to states. I stand by what I say...your defensiveness here and in the two responses to my other post demonstrate that I forced you to think! Good...you needed to.

I don't give a good goddam if Pennsylvania is "agricultural," it is NOT part of the South in ANY demographic study I have ever read, and I have read numerous ones in my profession.

Just face it, admit it, racism happens across the USA. And then quit trying to be right, and work on the problem in YOUR area, as I do in MY area.

(Someone's just pissed that he was corrected by a Southerner who doesn't fit the stereotype he hoped to perpetuate.)

[foo_bar]

57. Boston's pretty integrated

at least Jamaica Plains, the South End, parts of Roxbury. Its reputation is mainly the Irish quarter segregating itself from blacks, Jews, the Italian quarter, everybody else. It's a form of segregation in the European ghetto tradition, more about nationality and creed than skin color. There's no concept of "white pride" in Boston, only "Irish pride" and "Catholic pride".

[Maddy McCall]

44. Sorry, but PA isn't in the South...

And people need to quit hanging racist behavior on the South's doorknob. As we diversify down here, the racist shit we hear about is happening more and more OUTSIDE the south.

And we don't bestow honorary Southerness to states just because they segregate. Racism exists far and wide in the US, and the sooner people realize that it isn't limited to Southern states, the sooner other states can confront the problems with which the south has been dealing for years.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

49. The South isn't the only racist part of America

Portland, Oregon, yes, Portland, Oregon used to be considered one of the most racist cities in the North. Oregon Public Broadcasting did a documentary on this a few years ago. The African-American population is still very small in proportion to the size of the city.

Meanwhile, Minneapolis used to be one of the most anti-Semitic cities in the country. Did you ever notice that both Al Franken and the Coen brothers grew up in St.Louis Park, Minnesota? That's not a coincidence. There was a time when that was the only suburb of Minneapolis that didn't ban the sale of property to Jews.

[foo_bar]

54. anti-semitism needs Jews

The African-American population is still very small in proportion to the size of the city.

Racism or segregation? This too is semantics: is Vermont the least racist state for lack of black people, or the most? Often homogeneous white populations are the most "liberal" until their intentions are put to a real-world test, which supports the southern thesis that we're all racists but don't always get the opportunity to discover our depths. I pretty much agree, but the fact of statewide segregation is primarily a southern phenomenon.

Did you ever notice that both Al Franken and the Coen brothers grew up in St.Louis Park, Minnesota? That's not a coincidence.

That isn't serendipitous, most Jewish suburbs attract their share of anti-semites. I've met skinheads in Long Island, nation of islam in Brooklyn, rich wackos in Beverly Hills, you name it. Same as last paragraph, without Jews there's no way to measure anti-Semitism.

[foo_bar]

51. regional snobbery

includes not hearing the difference between "Pennsylvania" and "Philadelphia". As it turns out, Pennsylvania is quite like a southern state in terms of agriculture, population density, and choice of Rick Santorum. Philadelphia resembles a southern city in postbellum institutionalized apartheid, but you could make the case that Birmingham and Mansfield simply resemble Philadelphia. But I don't recall any George Wallaces or Strom Thurmonds invoking the National Guard against its citizenry above the Mason-Dixon line (although two Philly mayors attacked their own city for different reasons).

Btw, the inspiration for this dissent was the original non sequitur about "bookmarking this thread for the next south-bashing thread". Taking solace in a story like this simply because it wasn't "one of us this time" is actually quite racist in its own right.

[foo_bar]

55. continued

Why is this defense racist? Because it transforms the horror of racism into mock horror of discrimination against southerners; by equating the plight of the oppressors with the oppressed ("regional snobbery is just about as offensive as racism"), it mythologizes the struggle of reactionaries into the same limelight as the civil rights movement itself. At least that's how Limbaugh and the CCC use it whenever a white person is denied a scholarship.

[kayell]

67. Well, I'm damn sorry I made the bookmarking remark

and I'm probably going to be damn sorry that I'm replying to you again, but you need to reread my original post. My point (again) is that racism (of which segregation is one symptom) is a nationwide disease. We need to battle it as an entire nation, east, west, north and south together. It is even more important now, since the BFEE is so actively using the race card to gain advantage.

Sign me:
Proud to be southern, proud to be liberal, proud to live in a mixed race neighborhood and a mixed race household. Don't assume that you know who I am because of my geography.

[DrGonzoLives]

76. Oh, really?

But I don't recall any George Wallaces or Strom Thurmonds invoking the National Guard against its citizenry above the Mason-Dixon line

Ever heard of Abraham Lincoln? He called out THE ARMY to quell draft riots when poor people actually figured that they shouldn't have to go die because they didn't a few hundred bucks to buy their way out.

Know why they rioted? Because they didn't want to go fight for the freedom of a bunch of slaves in the South.

Yep, that's enlightened. :eyes:

Institutionalized apartheid? Oooohhhhh, big, big words there. What laws are on the books in Philadelphia that "institutionalize apartheid"? I would love to hear this.

[Name removed]

75. Deleted message

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[QC]

80. Staten Island must be Southern now, too.

http://www.newsday.com/news/yahoo/nyc-nybias223464380sep22,0,5518730.story?coll=ny-newsaol-headlines

[CreekDog]

18. Hosptial Discrminated Against Its Own Employees

By not allowing certain staff members into the room strictly because of their skin color. And someone from management (a supervisor) made this decision.

This is so incredible. Also, if staff takes legal action against the hospital, or makes an Equal Employment Opportunity complaint, how could they not win against the hospital.

[CMT]

22. I work in a hospital and this very thing happened one time

and the bigot was told straight out that there demands were unacceptable and if they didn't like the hospitals policy they certainly could go elsewhere.

[Nay]

23. Jesus! This shit is STILL happening??

And the hospital went along with it? Craven bastards. If I were the employees, I would sue the hell out of them.

[Mandate My Ass]

42. Lawyer up

This is more disgusting than "whites only" lunch counters and water fountains from decades ago and I hope the hospital is sued for promoting racial discrimination for catering to the whims of a knuckle-dragging bigot.

I can almost understand the motives and mindset of the ignorant loser who demanded this indignity, what is neither understandable nor forgivable is the motives of the cowards who complied with him.

[liberalmuse]

25. What century is this again?

This is unacceptable! The hospital should have flat out denied this bigot's idiotic request. Why do people still pander to this shit? Fuck that! It's time to take a huge stand against bigotry. If you're a racist pig, too damn bad. No one is going to tolerate your stupidity any longer. Rush, you're fired! DeLay, get your ass back to Texas. KKK, you will not march on our streets any longer. I'm all for freedom of speech, but when it is used to denigrate any group of human beings because of their race, the game is over.

[AP]

27. Between this and nobody standing up to Rush on air on ESPN, I'm wondering

what the hell is going on in America, and can, as Howard Dean believes, a discussion among white people of their unconscious feelings stop this crap?

Where's the courage?

I guess a fish rots from its head.

[loudnclear]

41. OK Johnny...let the suits begin!

Someone is going to have to pay up!!

[wryter2000]

34. Want to hear a funny story in a similar vein?

I work in a huge medical center is Oakland, California, one of the most diverse cities in the country. We have doctors, nurses, and employees of just about every ethnicity imaginable.

A hoity stock broker, originally born in Europe, got in a serious parachuting accident and was busted up really bad. When they got him stabilized, they sent him to my medical center because (aside from a trauma unit, which we don't have), we have the most specialists and experts in exactly what he needed. Unfortunately, some of them were the wrong color. He started screaming he wanted to back to the other (suburban) hospital. His wife even asked for bottled water for him to wash his teeth.

I laughed hysterically at that. Couldn't drink the water in Oakland. Not only is our water some of the best in the country, but it's virtually the same water they get in their suburb.

We didn't give in to his stoopid requests, but he was sure good for a few laughs. He left in great condition, thanks to our brown doctors and nurses.

[chasqui]

47. Some people are terminally stupid.

He was tempting fate.
You cannot be safely uneducated in this supposedly egalitarian society we live in - everywhere we go we are surrounded by proof that we are not superior to those around us.
It seems like an act of intrepid arrogance to insult those that are going to save your life.
Actually, it does not surprise me. I once had to deal with boorish, obnoxious european stock broker here in Chicago. He was drunk, slurring, hitting on my gal, and making an ass of himself. I can picture a whole room full of these savages, trying to muscle in on a trade...

[oneighty]

36. Some day

when this person is in need of a blood transfusion to save him self or a member of his family, how will he know if it came from a black body or not?

He should consider that.

180

[bluestateguy]

37. He should have been discharged

In any event, I'm not real keen on the idea of more babies being born to racists.

[roguevalley]

39. What century are we in?

*

[David Zephyr]

43. This Shit Never Ends!

Outrageous!

I hope they sue the hell out of this hospital. I hope they wind up owning the hospital. And they should sue the man who requested them to do so.

[peacetalksforall]

48. All non-whites - hear this - clear the streets when this

man takes his little baby home!

And Wal-mart - hear this - don't allow any non-whites to stock the diaper shelves!

[Darth_Kitten]

52. So WHY did they go against their own policy.....

they just encourage these idiots.... :eyes:

sheesh. :(

[Skittles]

53. I'd like to know that too

what on EARTH was the hospital's incentive to listen to the wishes of a hateful bigot? It makes no sense.

[Wapsie B]

56. That's easy. You've got an OB manager

with no balls. Oh the stories I could tell.

[pippin]

59. workers who were barred

could sue the hospital for discrimination... they were barred from performing the jobs they were hired and qualified to perform purely on on the basis of race.

[Skittles]

68. are you saying the OB manager was a woman?

If not, then STOP with that f***ing BALLS reference. It's SEXIST and DEMEANING.

[Mairead]

60. I have a certain amount of sympathy for the family, really

People are entitled to be who they are, even if they're racist nitwits. Even racist-nitwit families, when one of their members is in hospital, are generally nervous and fearful. They need some slack cut them.

I think that where the hospital went wrong was in not doubling the family's bill (a 'rescheduling' line item, perhaps)...and then distributing that surcharge money to the Black staff members affected.

If the family had wanted a private room or dedicated nurses, nobody would have gone all huffy--but they'd've been billed accordingly. The same process should have applied in the actual case.

[Darth_Kitten]

61. People who are generally nervous and fearful.....

and GENUINELY concerned about their families' welfare aren't going to be so picky and choosy, IMHO. I pity the child born to the lowlife idiots in this particular situation. If an organization like this hospital cannot support their own employees, what can be said of them? Not too much.

In a crisis situation, I'd be like, you can help me?? PLEASE DO!!!! :)

[DiverDave]

62. Astonishing!

When my kids were born I only had concern for them and their mother, frankly I cannot remember what the racial makeup was in the room.
It was such a wonderful time for me, absolutely the most incredible thing I have ever witnessed.
Which begs the question, why wouldn't this father feel the same?
What the hells wrong with him?
Obviously he didn't give 2 shits for his wife or child, the Bastard.
I hope the child is going to be alright, but somehow, I think not.

[Mairead]

63. No, think 'displacement activity' --it's how he managed his anxiety

He displaced his attention onto a non-essential issue and inflated it til it was big enough to hold all his fear.

[Skittles]

69. WTF ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT

PEOPLE ARE ENTITLED TO BE RACISTS? WHAT ARE YOU, A REPUBLICAN???????
THIS IS SICKENING BEHAVIOR AND HIS WISHES SHOULD HAVE BEEN DENIED.

[Mairead]

72. You should calm down, and possibly grow up

Yes, people are entitled to be racists, just as they're entitled to eat animal flesh, hate Arabs, spell moron 'moran', and vote Republican. Check the lawbooks.

[pippin]

74. sorry, but your are WRONG

Under EEO law, it is illegal to discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, religion, or disability. Federal AND state laws prohibit disicrimination in the workplace.


Not sure which law books you are referring to but no one is " entitled" to behave in ways prohibited by law.

[DrGonzoLives]

77. What if

a black family had demanded no whites in the delivery room? Would you be up in arms about that? What if Jews had demanded all Jews, or Muslims all Muslims, or Hispanics all Hispanics, etc.? Something tells me that no one on this site would have even noticed.

Yes, in a free country, with free speech, you have the right to be a racist. That's just how it is. Unless you want to argue that the First Amendment is bullshit.

I notice you didn't comment on the second part of Mairead's post, which was entirely reasonable.

[atlien]

65. THIS RIGHT HERE IS THE REASON JOHNNY COCHRAN IS RICH

Don't get me wrong, I like Mr. Cochran. But the guy has to sit back and laugh at how easy it is to make money when you have people as stupidly racists as to think that they can get away with this type of thing.
Sometimes it amazes me that American never had a large scale riot/war occur between the ethnicities. To have so many legal freedoms in place, this is a pretty bigoted and racist society.

I hope as many people as possible are sued into bankruptcy over this. If you can't change people's hearts work on their stock portfolios.

[rocktivity]

71. They may have "avoided a confrontation" with the patient's husband

But they may have one with the employees they discriminated against if they decide to take action. The hosptital should have either refused and invited THEM to sue, or old them to take their business elsewhere.


rocknation

[TahitiNut]

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