Registrant Denied Access to Hospital For Son’s Surgery
Father on Sex Offender Registry Barred from Son’s Hospital
A member contacted us this week. He’s on the registry for an offense that took place over 15 years ago. He brought his son to Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando for surgery and was denied access at the door because of his status on the registry.
These policies that prevent former offenders from ever parenting their children are ridiculous!
When someone looks back on their childhood and reflects on the meaningful events when a parent was there for them, they think of sporting events, graduations, illnesses. Laws that banish parents from these events not only do nothing to keep children safe, but deprive their own children of a parent.
Laws which keep individuals from schools, athletic events, even hospitals, when they have no legitimate reasons to be there are understandable. But if someone is at a hospital to stand by his child, who is going into surgery, keeping them away is inhumane!
If anyone is concerned about this policy and would like to submit their concern to Nemours, you can do so here: https://nemours.alertline.com/gcs/welcome
I don’t understand. Does the hospital check the RSO status of everyone who enters the premises?
What if the RSO is the PATIENT??
Was this a HOSPITAL policy or is it a law?
Hospital Policy.
The Hospital must check the registry.
They check EVERY PERSON that enters the building !!! And it’s POLICY not LAW, But according to the Lawyer I spoke with about suing them over my incident, Since the Hospital is Privately Owned, They can dictate who comes and goes. Except as a patient, If an Offender comes in for treatment, They allow them BUT assign a GUARD to that Patient !!!! They treat you like your in Prison or Jail !!!. You will be WATCHED 24/7 as long as your in the Hospital !!!!. And IF you go to visit a loved one in the Hospital and they ALLOW you to enter(only if your Family is dying !!!) The Hospital Assigns a UNIFORMED SECURITY GUARD to you and they stick to you like Super Glue !!. The will escort you straight to the patients room then right to your vehicle !! And wait till you LEAVE THE PROPERTY !!!. If that isn’t ADDED PUNISHMENT, I don’t know what is !!!!!. This Country has become so Scared of itself, And people are so BRAIN WASHED that we don’t stand a chance in having a “Normal” life ever again !!!. Kids are being raised to HATE certain People !! It’s so sad…
Privately owned but I bet they take a lot of tax money and not just Medicare or Medicaid.
Same thing happened to me last December !! Only at Halifax Hospital in Daytona FL. My daughter was there Giving birth to my FIRST Grandchild and I missed it because I was refused entry because of me being on the”Registery” !!!!. Allowing this type of “BANISHMENT” should be ILLEGAL !!! The Registery and ALL OF ITS RESTRICTIONS should be ABOLISHED and soon !!!
I heard about that place doing that…maybe on FAC’s website. Don’t remember.
My son on the registry, wanted to be with his dad at Halifax when he was undergoing surgery. He was told that if he stayed at the hospital he had to have an armed guard with him at all times. My then 16 year old daughter was there as well, and since her brother didn’t stay I had to cancel an interview so I could be there with her. I ended up not being able to get the company to reschedule the interview so I lost out on a better job. My son just couldn’t handle having the embarrassment of a guard with him, especially as he had just been out of prison for a couple of months. My ex-husband nearly died of Sepsis while my son was locked up and he really wanted to be there for his dad.
All this proves is, That the Registery IS PUNISHMENT !!! . Anyone that says it’s not, Is either Blind or Making money from The Registery somehow !!!!. I’ll NEVER get back the chance to be there when my First Grandbaby is born again !!!. It eats at me a little bit each day !!!. All this suffering I’m going through because of a LIE !!!. My victim lied about her age, Admitted it in court, And while I spent over 2 YEARS and $160,000 fighting for my life, My “Victim” did the same thing to two other Guys !!! One is in Prison for 20 year’s, And even tho there was ALL KINDA PROOF that my “Victim” lied about her age to me, It didn’t matter in FLORIDUH !!! I couldn’t use it in court !! I was still WRONG regardless of the reason, She was a Minor !!! .. I’m punished DAILY for something I’ve already PAID MY DEBT TO SOCIETY FOR !! And that is AGAINST THE CONSTITUTION !!!! I just can’t see how this is Legal to do to almost 1 MILLION people !!!!!!. . Something needs to be done and be done NOW !!!!.
Write to that link provided in the article. that’s step 1 of what is being done now.
My case happened 29 years ago, the family relations with victim has been restored for 20 years, and yet, Neymors Hospital denied me access to see my grandson after a delicate surgery. And to make it worst they wanted to tell me why the access was being denied privately away from my wife, like if that something you can hide from a wife you have been married to for years.
Its time to revise non violent cases when they become 25 or more years old.
R
I suggest submitting that complaint. If enough people have been impacted we can consider doing more.
Done. Pointed out that if they don’t want RCs visiting their patients, then they should refuse to treat the patient. Also asked if there was any other occasion of an RC committing another offense there. Willing to bet if there was ever any sex offense that occurred at that facility, it was likely committed by an unregistered staff member.
Whoa!
I am giving birth in a few months. I’m 6 months pregnant. How can I found out if the father of my child will be denied access to witness the birth of his first baby due to his status?
I’m kind of scared to call the hospital and ask… I need him there. He is my support. He can’t miss the birth. 😱
That’s unacceptable!
I’d probably not open a pandora’s box by saying anything. Schedule a tour of the hospital (they usually do these) with your husband and see if he has any issue getting in for the tour. If he does, there’s still 3 months to find another hospital.
Thank you for the recommendation. I will, For sure. I didn’t want to call and self fulfill my fear. I’ve searched online but haven’t found anything about their policies on SO’s.
So sad that this is even an issue. No one should have to miss out on being there for a loved one or even to welcome their child or grandchild into the world. Disgusting and heartbreaking.
They tend to bury the policies. It can take literally hours to get a straight answer out of places concerning their policies on SOs.
I’m not really sure why this is, whether it is because they encounter inquiries having to do with their policies on RSOs so infrequently, or if they just don’t want to prominently publish blatant segregationist policy for fear of media attention.
I’ve had to try and find policies at three different institutions so far, and each time I could not find any verbiage in their published (i.e. available online) policies having to do with RSOs, the first human point of contact had absolutely no idea, and I had to go through at least three layers of escalation (“let me ask my supervisor”) to get an answer.
I’ve spoken to others who have encountered the same.
Last year my then almost 2-year-old was at the Children’s hospital closest to us, and thankfully we had no issues since I am an RSO. Granted, she was admitted at almost 2am but we were in and out most of the weekend since we have two other kids but still had problems. I was worried the whole time I was there, we were in a shared room with another sick child and 2 of the 3 nights I stayed the night along with my wife.
Is it just Nemours? How do they check? My son visited my mother in the hospital and they did not say anything. Here is what I wrote to Nemours
How dare you deny a father to see his son in the hospital because of a prior crime just because our government chooses to label him! That gentleman has served his time for a crime committed a long time ago! How dare you! As doctors and scientists you should have a better handle on the truth about sex offenders – if you did you would know that this person is no threat to you or anyone else in your facility. How many people pass through your doors every day that have committed crimes against humanity and you do not even know about it! Again how dare you!!! Learn the truth before you judge and hurt peoples lives!
That’s a good response!
Another movie needs to be made here about these injustices. It needs to be documented and soon. People are being hurt for no reason and it has to stop. Where are the folks that did the filming for “Pervert Park?” This is something that just cannot go on, Its nothing less than appalling.
It’s a sad, sad commentary on what is happening to this country all over… maybe even the world. People, out of touch with compassion, believe every falsehood told on the internet but won’t trust the truth when presented to them We have become a nation of amoral seething dogs, unwilling or unable to forgive and move on.
Thomas, very well said. Thank you
just another law maker arrested and probably going to get away with it but doing what some rso’s did to get on the list
“Rhode Island state Sen. Nick Kettle was arrested Friday on charges of video voyeurism” 02/16/2018 was the day of his arrest lets see what happens
Is there even one single documented case of a RSO committing an offense at a hospital? Likely not. Just unnecessary, added expense, frustration, and hassle.
I do not know how to find the outcome of the lawsuit mentioned in this article (it is 9 years old) but it might hold some interesting information. It says in this article, “One point of contention in the lawsuit is whether a hospital has a legal duty to its patients to always give visiting rights to their designated family members and surrogates.” This article is about a same sex couple but the statement above is inclusive and not based on that.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/19/health/19well.html
Forst time i s tually followed through with sending something. Thats how much this hurts me. Murderers, thieves and the entire spectrum are allowed to carry on and not have this weight on them supporting a family and watching that same family suffer. How is this not a sentance for the inmocent family as well? We say 70k registrants but multiply that by lets say 3 to include the family and those living at the address thats registered thats 210,000 actual registrants. They live with us and now live with our over zealous penance in this pergutory with no end….. a minimum of 210,000 affected just directly from this entire sham….
Wow! Florida is one messed up state! Why would you stay there under these conditions. If I were denied access based on this, the people stopping me would need medical treatment!
Florida is full of awful people. Yet they seem to wonder why they keep shooting each other. Duh. Direct result of hate. The SORs create that hate. It is pretty much the only thing the SORs do well. They’ve signed up for more hate and violence, they surely ought to expect it.
I do not like FL either believe me – however, this is not based on the state at all. It is a policy of that hospital group (and others?) and they are using the registry to do it.
Sure, it’s the policy of this scummy, pandering hospital group. However, the criminal regime of FL enabled it, promotes it, and fully supports it. And they are supported by the vast majority of people in the state, who are truly scum that deserve all the karma they get.
Will is so on point. SOR breeds distrust of our neighbor and neighborhood. SOR falsely fosters fear and dissention within in our nation states. Who can seriously deny the peoples intent purpose IS TO impose unreasonable affirmative disability and restraint.
I submitted a complaint. Americans need to do anything possible that is legal to harm any organization or person who supports the SORs. We need a blacklist of people who should be harmed. Never give any business or money to any Registry Terrorist. Always ask where a business stands.
Well folks, let’s see what happens to me. I’ll finally be a grandpa this coming Wednesday. My daughter must have a C-Section due to the size of the baby. She is going to Memorial West in Pembroke Pines (Broward County). Since there will be an army of friends and family on that day, I’ll go on Thursday afternoon. I told my daughter that I might have a problem getting a visitor’s pass. Like always, she told me to stop being so paranoid! After 17 long years of no, no and more no’s, I’ve come to expect being turned away from everywhere. By next year it will include Burger King!
I’ll comment again to this feed and let you all know what happened. Please wish me luck. I’m already in tears just writing this.
Good luck and please let us know.
Good Luck!
As my boyfriend said to me, Don’t stress yourself out! Very interested to hear your experience and best of luck to mom and baby during their procedure! Congrats, Grampa!
Congrats on the baby. Things will never be the same for ya! Soon you’ll wonder what you did before he\she came into your life.
I was allowed to visit my daughter and brand new grandson!!! Yeah!
My next scary step is to begin working out. My insurance covers 3 local gyms: the YMCA (I won’t even consider this), Planet Fitness and Youfit. I’d prefer Planet Fitness. Anybody out there have knowledge about their policies???? Will greatly appreciate hearing about it. I’ll definitely update you once I’ve gone. Thanks again!
You shouldn’t have any problems getting a membership at Planet Fitness. Congratulations on the new grandson!
Becoming another person comes to mind.
Great idea LOL. Maybe one of us should start a business of identity “modification”. I want my new name to be Ben Dover.
Although I am retired from the military, I was denied access for over an hour when trying to go to the ER at NAS Jacksonville! Had my condition been more severe, I would have died at the gate!
i would be interested in knowing why you were held out of a military hospital where the patients are all above 18?? besides the usual wait of course.
no hope- I was held at the main gate, denied access to the entire base. They obviously had no plan in place to handle an anomaly such as myself. Finally, they had an ambulance pick me up at the main gate and take me to the hospital. My car remained at the main gate. After my treatment, I was escorted back to my car and promptly hustled off base.
I am curious to know if this has happened to any other former military, that are on the registry, who are supposed to have access to base medical facilities?
Hey JZ, just curious, did they check your Military ID or did you show your drivers license! That is hard to believe they wouldn’t grant you access!!
Thanks
TB
TB- A few years ago, the guards at the base gates started scanning military IDs. I was never detained until the incident I described. Apparently, since then, when a military ID is scanned it is cross-checked with the “Dru Sjodin” database aka US Department of Justice National Sex Offender Public Website (NSOPW). If your name appears on the website, you are automatically banned from entering a military base. There is supposedly a way to get a waiver, but just as trying to get clemency in Floriduh, it’s a humiliating process that has a slim chance of being granted.
My outpatient VA clinic was on NSA Panama City. I was a patient there for a few years. One day I received a letter from the Veterans Administration stating that registered sex offenders will be denied entry. I contacted a VA caseworker. After she did some research, I was informed that it is now a nationwide military policy to ban sex offenders from military bases. I changed my physician to one located at the Pensacola Outpatient Clinic which is not located on a military installation.. I drove from Panama City to Pensacola to see a doctor until the new Panama City clinic was built. It is off-base. I do not know if what the case worker told me is true because I never tried to gain entry to a military facility after I received the letter. Maybe somebody can elaborate on this topic.
Can you share that letter?
legal@floridaactioncommittee.org
That’s something we would certainly like to take up.
Yeah kudos FAC. Those veterans earned their benefits and I would not think that any stupid label the govt gives them should preclude them from those benefits. Furthermore, what about veterans that commit other crimes after they are separated from service?
It is possible that I have the letter somewhere. If I can find it, I will definitely share. There was other information in the letter about the facility that did not pertain to sex offenders. The letter appeared to be a general information letter that was sent to all clinic patients. This occurred at a time when sexual harassment in the military was a hot topic. My though was that this may be a government response to make it look like they were doing something about their internal harassment problem by making things hard on sex offenders. Sound familiar? The VA approved my change of doctor and facility request based on this policy, so I must assume that it is a real thing. The VA will not change a veteran’s doctor without good reason. Apparently, it is general knowledge within the system as I was told that I was not the only veteran “in this situation.” I was asked to understand that the VA has no control over admittance to military bases. The case worker told me that she personally contacted the base commander and that there is “no exception” to this policy. However, I understand that individual commanders are allowed to make exceptions at their discretion.
Also, just so you know – denying ANYONE emergency treatment is against the law.
a final thought here because i see many have responded but since i was charged i have been to the hospital 4 times for my grand parents and not once was i ever questioned or stopped because of my status in fact they had no idea who i was i went to the security office got a visitor pass and that was it. i am wondering how these hospitals found out the people were RSO’S now i dont have restrictions that others do so i can go to parks/hospitals etc.. but besides that i am on the registry like everyone else
no hope – some hospitals check, some don’t.
Some states (like Florida) require it to be on your driver license. They may have simply asked for id (standard policy, I would think) and noticed it.
Halifax of Daytona actually took my license and RESEARCHED me online !! I watched them do it !!. I’m sure they knew where to look on our physical license, But they also check the Registery on EVERY PERSON that comes into to Property !!! We had to stand in a line and Wait because the person at the Desk was running everyone’s name. And they issue a Visitor pass that you MUST wear on your chest, If they don’t see the pass, They remove you from the property right then !!!. It’s sad 5hat a Private Hospital that RECEIVES PUBLIC FUNDING can dictate who comes on their property !!!. I believe that if they get to STOP people from coming to their place, Then the State should STOP GIVING THEM OUR MONEY !! I mean, Even tho I’m now a FELON, And also a RSO, I STILL have to PAY TAXES !!! Only I don’t get to choose or have a vote on where my money goes !!! That is SO WRONG on So Many Levels !!!. No Taxation Without Representation !!!!! But Florida doesn’t see it like that !! Florida will FORCE you to do things AGAINST THE PROTECTION OF THE CONSTITUTION, And FORCE you to PAY TAXES, Yet Not think twice about TOSSING YOU’RE BUTT INTO THE STREET !!! . Then pass laws that make it ILLEGAL for you to be where Florida put you !!! This Country Has Turned it’s back on it’s people and if we don’t change things NOW, This “Country” won’t last much longer !!!.
i’ve been in and out of memorial west at pembroke many times and never had a problem in fact it never occured to me that i might not be allowed in.My Mom was in and out a hundred times and i was always there.It would have been absolutly horrible if i was denied accses the day i had to go there when she died.I can’t even think about it, it’s (i’m trying to thing of an appropriate adjective ) its just unthinkable im at a loss for words.
I wonder if that’s the standing policy of the hospital or were they under a strong police presence that day. Either way its not excusable.
It’s a standing policy at Nemours, that’s why we choose to not go there anymore with our child. Husband was escorted by security the entire visit for a dr appointment. Now we are looking at brain surgery at a different hospital (Shands) and it is looking like same thing may happen.