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Wednesday, March 20, 2013

POT Catholic Hospital Admits to Calling Cops on Patient for Having Marijuana

Posted by Cienna Madrid on Wed, Mar 20, 2013 at 4:03 PM

A communications spokesman for Franciscan Health System, the Catholic hospital organization that runs St. Anthony in Gig Harbor, sent along this statement admitting that a hospital employee called the cops on a patient on Monday after smelling marijuana on him, as I reported yesterday. Scott Thompson writes:

At Franciscan Health System we take the health and well-being of our patients very seriously. In this case, one of the staff members at our Prompt Care facility in Gig Harbor was concerned that a patient may be impaired and would be operating his motorcycle after his appointment. Out of concern for the safety of the patient and other motorists, local law enforcement was contacted to investigate the situation.

We apologize that the patient may have been embarrassed by the response. We are investigating the situation further so we can ensure that future situations are handled in the best and most compassionate way possible.

The statement is vague and doesn't address whether the employee will be disciplined for apparently breaching Matthew Zimmerman's privacy. It also doesn't address the seeming double-standard applied to Zimmerman versus, say, a patient who smelled of booze. Would a nurse immediately call the cops on a patient smelling of booze? Or would she sooner call a cab?

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What troubles me now is that a medical professional can't tell the difference between a person who smells like pot and a person who is impaired. I expect the next story out of this hospital to be a gynecologist who calls animal control because his patient is clearly a fish.

Posted by MacCrocodile

on March 20, 2013 at 4:39 PM

It says the hospital was worried that he'd be driving while impaired. That's probably a bullshit excuse, but if they really did think he was impaired what else should they do?

Posted by Urgutha Forka on March 20, 2013 at 4:57 PM

I assume that anyone getting prescribed opiates or other drowsiness-inducing drugs from the hospital pharmacy elicits a 911 call whenever they try to drive home?

Posted by Mahtli69 on March 20, 2013 at 5:15 PM

Nitpicky, but the "smells like booze" comparison isn't really apt - if someone smells like booze, chances are they're drunk. A better analog to the ridiculousness of this incident would be calling the cops on someone who's about to drive with an unopened 6 pack of beer in their car.
Honestly, stories like this sort of thrill me in a perverse way. I love how all the old sticks-in-the-mud are just going to have to fucking learn to deal with weed being legal.

Posted by glerg on March 20, 2013 at 5:43 PM

Did we verify if it was a nurse practitioner? "The doctor is not going to approve" doesn't sound like something an NP would say in a state with one of the most liberal scopes of practice in the US.

Posted by judgmentalist

on March 20, 2013 at 5:47 PM

At Franciscan Health System we take the health and well-being of our patients with hysteria & ingnorance

.

FTFY.

Surprised she didn't propose bleeding or trepanning.

Posted by Some Old Nobodaddy Logged In on March 20, 2013 at 6:04 PM

This sounds like after the fact ass-covering. If a hospital employee thought he might be impaired, they should have brought that up with the patient and charted the interaction, prior to time of discharge. That is standard of practice. When someone is clearly intoxicated a case can be made to detain the patient in treatment until they sober up. At Harborview, they strap you to a gurney in the E.D. if you decline to wait. Then they call Detox, not the cops.

Posted by thatsnotright on March 20, 2013 at 6:06 PM

(253) 530-2000

St Anthony Hospita's phone number. Give them a call.

Listen, if all you do is post some angry rant here, it won't change a thing. Call the hospital itself, and talk to them directly. Be polite and everything, but tell them what you think. St. A's cannot exist without patients, and if they think your business is going to go to Multicare or some other hospital/clinic, they'll perk up.

Posted by Tacoma Traveler on March 20, 2013 at 7:05 PM

What difference does it being a Catholic hospital make? If you think they are still staffed by nuns, or that all (or any) of the employees are Catholic, that boat sailed ages ago.

To me, the important point is this: if the employee thought the patient was impaired - by pot, booze, medication, or anything - why did she let him leave at all?

Posted by Catalina Vel-DuRay

on March 20, 2013 at 7:53 PM

@9 your snarky comment missed a article by none other than thestranger on the subject.

http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/faith…

try to pay attention

Posted by meanie

on March 20, 2013 at 10:24 PM

No meanie, I did not "miss" that article. It's just that there's absolutely no connection to what happened here. Not everything in health care is about abortion or family planning, and the patient in question was not there for either of those issues. You must try not to be so single-minded, dear.

I'll ask again, and try to focus: If the employee thought the patient was impaired - by pot, booze, medication, or anything - why did she let him leave at all?

Posted by Catalina Vel-DuRay

on March 21, 2013 at 10:46 AM