Activists pressure Jackson Memorial to change visitation policies

It was a case that shocked both gay and straight Floridians. A lesbian was prevented from seeing her partner because administrators refused to recognize her and her children as family. That partner later died.

Janice Langbehn, Lisa Marie Pond and three of their four children were about to take a cruise in Feb. 2007 to celebrate the couple's 18th anniversary, but Pond suffered a massive stroke before the ship left port and was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami.

She was pronounced dead of a brain aneurysm about 18 hours after being admitted to the trauma center. Langbehn said she was only allowed in to see her partner for a few minutes when a priest gave Pond the last rites.

Hospital workers refused to let Langbehn into Pond's hospital room -- even after a power of attorney was faxed to the hospital -- because they were not legally related.

Pond subsequently filed a lawsuit seeking damages in excess of $75,000.

The Committee for Fair Visitation at Jackson Memorial Hospital, a coalition of gay rights organizations, submitted a letter to the Public Health Trust of Miami-Dade County last month that requests a meeting to discuss the hospital's position it does not have to provide same-sex partners visitation rights.

The Committee also hopes to discuss ways in which the hospital can revise their visitation policies and practices to allow for equal and nondiscriminatory treatment of LGBT individuals.

"Janice's case illustrates the fact that discrimination in health care settings is still far too common for LGBT individuals," James Beaudreau, of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association said. "No one should be told that they do not fit the definition of 'family' after rushing a loved one to the emergency room."

"At Jackson Health System, we believe in a culture of inclusion," Jackson Memorial spokesperson Lorraine Nelson told EDGE. "For more than 90 years, we have served the Miami-Dade community. We take great pride in serving everyone who enters our doors regardless of race, creed, religious beliefs or sexual orientation."

Nelson added Jackson Health System has no policy restricting visitation on account of a person's sexual orientation. Jackson grants visitation to individuals equally, no matter who they are and regardless of their relationship to the patient.

"Visitation is limited only by the nature of the medical care being provided to the patient or other patients in the area, and all patients' privacy concerns," she said. "Thus, the type of hospital unit where a patient is being treated, and the status of other patients in the area, will greatly affect the amount of access afforded to visitors. This is Jackson Health System's policy and it has remained unchanged over the last 10 months."

Beaudreau said his organization has yet to receive a response from the hospital.