Trans Woman Ridiculed, Rejected by Hospital

[davidinalameda]

A transgender woman said staff at a Muncie, Ind., hospital mocked her and denied her treatment after she came to the emergency room coughing up blood.

Erin Vaught showed up at the Ball Memorial Hospital on July 18 with her wife and son, according to the Chicago Tribune. When she tried to submit her information for hospital records, two workers entered her gender as male, despite her identification being female. Vaught said she pointed out that her ID card identifies her as female, to which one worker snickered and the other made an annoyed face. When she was taken to the examination room, hospital staff referred to her as "he-she," "it," and a "transvestite."

Two hours passed before she saw a doctor, who then said he couldn't treat her because she is transgender.

http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2010/08/02/Trans_Woman_Ridiculed_Rejected_from_Hospital/

[PanoramaIsland]

1. Chilling...

Absolutely sickening. As a transgender woman, I have to live with the fact that I could be subjected to this kind of treatment at any time. Here in San Francisco, there's laws against it and a much friendlier social climate, but even so...

[Ken Burch]

2. Why would gender even MATTER if you're being treated for a respiratiory problem?

I'm thinking that Muncie isn't in the "Blue" zone in Indiana.

[TheWraith]

6. Actually, Delaware County went for Obama in 2008.

Only by 28,000 votes to 20,000, but it's not exactly the reddest place in the world, either.

[Ken Burch]

7. That makes this even weirder.

n/t.

[valerief]

3. BibleWorld is scary. nt

[kestrel91316]

4. Lawsuit: Bend over, Ball Memorial Hospital, 'cause you're gonna

get nailed.

[PanoramaIsland]

5. Let's just hope that there are appropriate anti-discrimination laws in the area.

[zbird]

8. Read the press release from a couple days ago from the hospital.

BMH Committed to Respect Dignity and Courtesy For All
7/28/2010

Muncie - Ball Memorial Hospital is committed to providing care with respect, dignity and courtesy. This commitment is embodied in the Hospital’s Core Values of compassion, customer care/service, safety, quality, respect and integrity. All staff are trained to embrace and act in accordance with the Core Values in each interaction with patients, family members, co-workers, medical staff members and customers, and resources are dedicated to the provision of on-going professional development and training of all employees in an effort to continuously improve the delivery of health care.

Recently, the Hospital has been made aware of certain electronic comments posted on the internet. These comments have been referred for internal review. And, should there be any merit to the concerns expressed in the comments, the Hospital will respond in the appropriate manner.

The Hospital understands the importance of meeting the needs of the communities it serves and continues to strive for excellence in offering services, training and education to promote wellness and improve the health status of the people of East Central Indiana and surrounding areas.

http://www.clarian.org/portal/Clarian/ball-memorial?ContentID=/hospitals-locations/ball-memorial/news-media/news-announcements/20100728_bmh-committment.xml

[rasputin1952]

9. WTF!

For one thing, denying treatment to an ER pt is against the law. Far beyond that legal aspect, this doctor and that staff need get their priorities straight. "Coughing up blood" can be from several conditions, TB, a severe respiratory infection to pneumonia, cancer, or worst case scenario, a pulmonary embolism.

I spent years in the Army, rising to Medical Plt Sgt, then had 11 years working in a hospital in the Puget Sound area...never once was a pt turned away.

I don't know where this staff received their medical training, but it appears nothing stuck, you treat the patient to the best of your ability and there is no consideration of gender, race, religion or an other damn thing people use to "cull the herd". This should have some pretty good footing for a law suit, several actually...willing to bet the hospital will settle out of court, but this really should go before a court, often that is a way to clarify laws or set precedents.

What an embarrassment to the medical community, an embarrassment for humanity.