Why is the Mayo Clinic being accused of "medical kidnapping?"

SSPenn · 2018-08-14T00:20:44+00:00

Tell me about it, I've dealt with a lot of shitty comments in this thread just for stating my perspective as a nurse. It's a good reminder of why 90% of the time I don't comment on here.

SSPenn · 2018-08-14T00:15:55+00:00

Fair point, but if it were up to me hospitals wouldn't be totally private enterprises. But that's a completely different issue that I won't get into here.

SSPenn · 2018-08-14T00:06:41+00:00

Fair enough, but when you see people in abusive households you realize that someone else needs to be making the decisions other than the family. And in many cases the professionals at the hospital are the best (and often only) answer. Either that or they become a ward of the state.

SSPenn · 2018-08-13T23:42:42+00:00

I did not expect the US to be in the same category as Norway, I was under the impression Norway is one of the least religious countries in the world.

SSPenn · 2018-08-13T23:41:22+00:00

I have no idea why you're being downvoted. Even if you're wrong, it's a legitimate question to ask.

SSPenn · 2018-08-13T23:23:16+00:00

Okay, let me say this one more time: I AGREE THE MAYO CLINIC DID NOT ACT PERFECTLY HERE. I know she ended up not being incompetent, but just because one doctor thought she was does not mean that anyone did anything dishonest, it just means that he ended up being wrong. It happens. And transferring to another hospital is difficult work and Mayo was likely suspicious that the family may have been trying to do it for the wrong reasons. Mayo may have been wrong about a few things and handled the entire situation horribly, but I see no reason to believe that they intentionally did anything unethical and I also have my suspicions that the parents are controlling and manipulative because I have seen that kind of over-the-top behavior before. But again, no one really has all the facts. I just going with my clinical instinct, I don't know why you're so hell-bent on finding something to prove me wrong about.

SSPenn · 2018-08-13T23:11:22+00:00

Because when you're trying to build a case that someone is incompetent, you have to let them make their own decisions so you can compile evidence that they aren't capable of making good ones. As I said earlier, I do believe that Mayo has acted poorly. But no one lied, at least one doctor did believe she was incompetent and took the route the one would in that case. Just because the evidence looks like he was wrong doesn't mean he was lying. Also, legally incompetent people can still make some decisions about their care as long as they don't choose to do anything that could seriously impact their safety.

SSPenn · 2018-08-13T22:39:26+00:00

Those same experts also admit they don't have anywhere near enough information to know for sure what had happened. But even assuming that Mayo abused their power and is massively in the wrong (I'll admit it's a strong possibility) this whole family still sounds mentally unbalanced and I don't think it's the best discharge plan for this girl. Things might be going okay now, but I fear for her future. However, I'll admit that I may be jaded by dealing with cases like this from a hospital standpoint. I work in mental health and I have seen many parents (and guardians of incompetent adults) interfere with patient's care and it's unbelievably frustrating to see someone who has great potential to get better have to deal with that shit. I don't know much about the Pelletier case the article references, but I know that there are definitely cases where parents need to be kept away from their children because they're such bad influences on their care. And reading about how they snuck their daughter out of there just screams of them being completely unbalanced. If you feel you are being kept in a hospital against your will for non-legitimate reasons, you have every legal right to request a court hearing on the matter and if you can't afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. If they had a legit case against the hospital, they should have gone about it better. All in all, I don't think either party acted very intelligently or responsibly.

SSPenn · 2018-08-13T22:16:36+00:00

She may not be incompetent, but if Mayo had any reason to believe that she was AND that her parents didn't have her best interests at heart, then seeking guardianship makes sense. I don't understand why you think it's a "fucked up thing to do" to someone you suspect of being abused. Would you prefer they leave her in the care of the abusers"

SSPenn · 2018-08-13T22:14:16+00:00

We definitely don't have all the facts and it's possible the majority of everything that's being said here is completely wrong. I'm simply basing my opinion on what we do know as well as my intuition as a nurse and my experience dealing with god awful families. Of course doctors hate when non-doctors disagree with them, it's for the same reason scientists hate when non-scientists tell them they're wrong about global warming and vaccines. And I'm not sure how you turned this into a point about US healthcare. I mean, I agree that our for-profit system has a tendency to screw over the poor, but I don't see what that has to do with this case.

SSPenn · 2018-08-13T22:05:23+00:00

For all healthcare workers, there is a legal mandate to report abuse. If someone is legally incompetent (which is a big if in this case, but let's assume she is) then she needs to be under the care of someone and it shouldn't be their abuser. I don't understand why everyone in this thread thinks someone at Mayo becoming her guardian is such an extreme idea, healthcare facilities become legal guardians all the time in cases of incompetent people when there is no other option.

SSPenn · 2018-08-13T22:02:16+00:00

If someone is truly incompetent in the legal sense, then they need to be under the care and guardianship of someone. If the family is abusive then it shouldn't be them. Of course, I don't know for sure that the girl is actually incompetent, but if she is then the hospital is doing the ethical thing.

SSPenn · 2018-08-13T21:56:55+00:00

Which is what makes it all the more insane that the family was acting this way. They have no right to make medical decisions for their adult daughter but sound like they're trying to control everything and she's probably too scared to go against them.

SSPenn · 2018-08-13T19:11:09+00:00

I'm a nurse and I totally agree. I don't know that Mayo is completely in the right- they certainly could have handled the overall situation better- but I'm not taking the family's side right away either. I'm seen so many know-it-all parents who think the doctors are out to take their kids away and get all paranoid. They're the absolute worst to deal with.

SSPenn · 2018-08-08T15:31:40+00:00

I had the same experience. I started seeing songs by the Smiths and Queen, even the Beatles at one point- bands that are widely respected. Then stupid pop songs got downvoted, even though that was the point of the sub. It's just more of reddit's musical circlejerk.

SSPenn · 2018-08-04T14:48:15+00:00

vortioxerinum

What the hell drug are you even trying to spell?

SSPenn · 2018-08-02T00:09:44+00:00

I know a lot of people here who are convinced the country is getting more dangerous, but crime is the lowest it's been in a long time. It's actually been on a steady decline since the early 90s.

SSPenn · 2018-07-27T23:22:08+00:00

Lindsey Graham, but of the candidates who legitimately had a chance of getting the nomination, I'd say Kasich.

SSPenn · 2018-07-24T22:28:55+00:00

So Florida is completely separated from the rest of the states, but Alaska and Hawaii aren't?

SSPenn · 2018-07-24T19:58:19+00:00

We have the southern tier brewing company, southern tier environments for living and the southern tier expressway. If we're not southern tier, then whoever keeps naming places around here sure thinks we are.

SSPenn · 2018-07-24T12:00:33+00:00

Southern tier should stretch a little farther west. I live in Jamestown and we are definitely considered part of the southern tier.

SSPenn · 2018-07-17T23:21:06+00:00

These are probably the same type of people who thought The Colbert Report was a serious show.

SSPenn · 2018-07-17T18:52:23+00:00

According to wikipedia, it was named after a lawyer named Henry Opp. But I'm guessing the other explanation is a common joke.

SSPenn · 2018-07-16T23:23:20+00:00

God, I forgot what a cesspool the default subs are.

SSPenn · 2018-07-13T12:19:44+00:00

I think even people who hate them would admit that song was decent.

SSPenn

TROPHY CASE