Welcome to St. Joseph Hospital of Elmira, New York, where they claim on their website:
St. Joseph’s Hospital, a Catholic health facility, is a voluntary not-for-profit community general hospital founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Rochester in cooperation with the physicians and citizens of Elmira, NY. The St. Joseph’s Hospital community, by maintaining a deep respect for the dignity of each person, strives to heal, as Jesus did, in mind, body and spirit, all who come to us.
“Maintaining a deep respect for the dignity of each person”… except for Gary Harvey.
Oh, I’m so sure Jesus would be quite proud of the staff of the hospital, the guardian group of people and attorneys involved in the Harvey case. Of course, I wouldn’t be counting on him having picked out everyone’s heavenly spot yet.
It was Thanksgiving Day and Sara Harvey had made the arrangements to visit her husband. She and the guard arrived only to be told that the hospital hadn’t received an okay. Guard is not authorized if visit is not authorized, but the dignity people continued with their refusal.
(Cliff Note: A guard is required because Sara is supposedly a danger to her husband because she supposedly didn’t follow medical advice. The hospital, guardians et al petitioned the court to starve & dehydrate Gary to death, but she is the danger. Irony at its best.)
So, while all the important people, who should have made sure the visit was authorized and those who could have given the okay after the failed communication, enjoyed their Thanksgiving meals with the ones of their choice, Gary was denied a mere visit from his wife. The wife that loves him… talks to him… reads to him. Instead, he, a person who has always loved holidays and spending them with the wife he loves — got to lay there alone in the isolation that is his life.
What a group of people…
Local politics of control at its best with the dignity people so proud of their compassionate behavior — the refusal of a simple visit on a special holiday! But then… it was only Gary & Sara Harvey!