Here's a bit more detail. Seems to me it depends on how much of an emergency situation it was. Of course, since the patient was in the hospital for a while, it couldn't all have been emergency time.
Racism in Area Hospital
Patient's Care Restricted to White Employees
October 3, 2003 — Abington Memorial Hospital is working its way through an issue of racism. The family member of a patient asked that her care be segregated.
Hospital staffers went along to avert any more hostility.
Abington Memorial Hospital admits it was wrong for supervisors to go along the demand of a pregnant patient's husband that no black employees assist in the delivery of the child.
It happened September 10 when on duty supervisors agreed to prevent blacks and other employees of color from taking part in emergency fetal stress treatment, delivery of the child, and from entering the patient's room during a stay of several days.
The ban was on all non-white staffers, including doctors, nurses, and service employees. The hospital concedes it was a clear violation of its non-discrimination policy which in part reads, "employee will be assigned to patient services without regard to the race, creed, color, national origin of religion of either the patient or employee." Angry and humiliated employees have told their story to the NAACP.
This incident comes, according to the NAACP, as the hospital tries to mend long strained relations with black employees and African Americans in the patient community who have complained about bad treatment here. Abington Memorial has a workforce that is 24% minority and 19 ½ percent are African-American.
The hospital authorities are promising this kind of accommodation of a patient family's wishes won't happen again, no matter how stressful the situation. they hope to head off lawsuits.
(Copyright 2003 by Action News. All Rights Reserved.) |
