Federal immigration officers have behaved in \u201chighly unusual\u201d ways when guarding detainees receiving treatment at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center, potentially undermining patient privacy and care, the Oregon Nurses Association alleged in a letter Thursday.<\/p>\n
The document raises questions not just about federal agents\u2019 conduct, but about inconsistencies in a major Portland health system\u2019s policies and practices regarding federal immigration officials on its grounds\u2014\u201cparticularly,\u201d the union says, \u201cwhen compared to the clear, established protocols used with other law-enforcement agencies.\u201d <\/p>\n
Legacy shot back in a statement, saying the union\u2019s letter was misleading, and that the health system takes patient health, safety and privacy extremely seriously and follows all state and federal laws that regulate the access and disclosure of protected health information.<\/p>\n
Legacy directed questions about law enforcement practices to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Neither ICE nor its parent agency, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, responded by end of day to questions sent Thursday morning about the allegations.<\/p>\n
The hospital said it received the letter from the union late Wednesday. The union on Thursday morning made that letter public. <\/p>\n
Citing reports from nurses and other staff, the union alleges hospital administration has failed to manage behaviors by federal agents that it says not only put hospital staff at legal risk, but threaten patient privacy and medical care and seem to diverge from the hospital\u2019s written policy. <\/p>\n
The union says part of the problem is Legacy has failed to provide clear lines of authority and decision-making. As a result, its letter said, nurses \u201care reporting day-to-day practices that depart sharply from those written commitments, confusion and differing standards for different law enforcement agencies, and ultimately the placing of nurses at risk of breaching statutory protections because of Legacy\u2019s unwillingness to clearly identify when disclosure of [protected health information] to law enforcement is allowed. These practices place patients and nurses at risk, both clinically and legally, and create a climate of fear and moral distress.\u201d<\/p>\n
For example, the union says hospital policy makes a clear distinction between public and nonpublic areas, and puts certain restrictions on where law enforcement may go without management approval. And yet the union says it received reports of federal officers \u201croaming halls and units, rather than remaining strictly with their detainee,\u201d and \u201cclustering around patient rooms and emergency department bays.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to the union, Legacy\u2019s systemwide communications have indicated that law enforcement detainees at the hospital retain the legal right to have their medical privacy protected, but this principal has been violated in practice. <\/p>\n
The union says it has received reports that \u201cICE officers have been allowed to remain at the bedside of ICE detainees at all times, including during sensitive exams, mental health assessments, and bathroom use,\u201d and \u201crefused to step away even when nurses or providers request privacy for clinically appropriate reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n
The union also raised concerns regarding the feds\u2019 effect on medical care rendered to detainees. The union says federal officers have \u201creportedly pressured nurses and physicians to skip assessments, tests, or monitoring in order to move patients out more quickly.\u201d <\/p>\n
The union also says it has received reports of instances where physicians have \u201crecommended continued hospitalization, but ICE insisted on removing the patient, effectively forcing discharge over clinical advice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Legacy vigorously rejected not only the allegation that it has applied policies inconsistently to federal immigration enforcement, but also the union\u2019s broader framing of the situation. <\/p>\n
In a statement, the hospital system says the union letter will create fear and confusion that will cause patients to delay emergency room care. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe are also concerned that this gives the incorrect impression that we have experienced a substantial increase in law enforcement, including ICE, in our facilities, which is not true,\u201d the hospital statement says, adding, \u201cWe have not had any law enforcement officers come to our facilities for enforcement actions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked about the time period the union letter refers to, ONA spokesman Peter Starzynski said, \u201cFrom what we have heard, it\u2019s been happening for a couple months.\u201d<\/p>\n
He says he does not know how many ICE detainees have been brought to Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in recent months. \u201cWe have heard it\u2019s weekly, if not more,\u201d he says, \u201cBut I do not know for how long it has been weekly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked if the union could facilitate an interview with a nurse familiar with the situation, Starzynski says nurses are reluctant to speak on the issue. <\/p>\n
This is not the first time Portland medical workers have alleged federal agents have disrupted medical care with behavior that crossed the line. <\/p>\n