The Need for Legal Planning
By Lori Mason-Moore of Holden Beach, N.C.
Approximately nine years ago, I was involved in a bad automobile accident. I ended up being brought to the local hospital by ambulance. I broke my pelvis and had internal bleeding and many bruises and lacerations. I ended up staying five days in the hospital.
When I was first admitted, the woman in the X-ray department was very kind to us and allowed my partner, Brenda, to come in the back with me. However, once they put me in my room, they wouldn’t allow Brenda in or tell her my condition because she wasn’t “family.”
Brenda immediately sought out the head nurse on duty and insisted that she ask me if she could come in the room. The nurse apologized to us, but said that it was hospital policy that if someone isn’t legally your spouse or relative, then no information could be given to them.
I told the nurse that Brenda was in fact my spouse — and she will be allowed in my room at anytime and she will be informed of my condition whenever she asks for it. The nurse noted it in my file and suggested that we have a healthcare power of attorney written up to avoid this problem in the future. We did that immediately following my release from the hospital.
Feb. 12, 2007
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