Houston Methodist Hospital New Policy: ‘Only Vaccinated Visitors Enter the Hospital or Physician Offices’
Houston Methodist Hospital New Policy: ‘Only Vaccinated Visitors Enter the Hospital or Physician Offices’
Previously denied Dr. Mary Talley Bowden claim that unvaccinated will not get care
As I wrote ten days ago, Dr. Mary Talley Bowden warned her patients that Houston Methodist Hospital was “discussing denying care for unvaccinated people.” The hospital denied the accusation and revoked Dr. Bowden’s privileges in retaliation. But secretly, Methodist changed its policy on Monday to say unvaccinated people are not welcome there.
Houston Methodist Hospital quietly updated its website with this:
Visitor Policy (Effective 11/15/2021).
For everyone’s safety and to prevent the spread of COVID-19, we strongly discourage visitors. We encourage only vaccinated visitors enter the hospital or physician offices. All visitors are required to wear a mask for the entirety of their visit and are subject to Houston Methodist’s screening policy.
A hospital police of “only vaccinated visitors enter the hospital or physician offices” means the unvaccinated can’t go there for medical care. But Methodist claims it will not deny care for unvaccinated.
Dr. Bowden emailed her patients on Nov. 9 that she was only accepting unvaccinated new patients to ensure they get medical care. She wrote that one of the factors in making this policy was this:
I then received a call from a patient with a history of bladder cancer who was looking for a new urologist. Her current urologist works for Methodist Hospital. He called her to tell her that Methodist was discussing denying care for unvaccinated people, and she should start looking for a urologist who can see her.
Methodist, in response, tweeted:
The hospital then told a reporter that it had temporarily revoked Dr. Bowden’s privileges. She resigned to stop the hospital from continuing to defame her professional reputation in public. (My story about that, here.)
Dr. Bowden was not my only source on the pending change in policy at Methodist.
A woman in Houston got this text on Nov. 7 from her gynecologist’s office, which is in the Methodist system.
As you can see, it says that her doctor abides by the policy that only “vaccinated visitors” enter the physician’s office.
Methodist said that it is not denying care for unvaccinated people, but how can they go to their doctor under this policy?
Methodist likes to be first in the nation on drastic COVID policies. It was the first to do a vaccine mandate for its employees. It is now the first to do a vaccine mandate for its patients.
Dr. Bowden had been proven right about Methodist’s vaccinated-only policy, but it’s not a victory for health care. People who make the personal decision to not get a vaccine for COVID should be treated by medical professionals the same as everyone.
Thank you to my paid subscribers for supporting my work and our right to free speech and a free press.
LINKS TO MY SOURCES:
Houston Methodist Hospital updated policy
Houston Methodist twitter feed about Bowden:
Dr. Bowden’s practice Breathe MD is here.
Linkedin: Mary Talley Bowden MD
Twitter for Dr. Bowden
Methodist CEO Stuart Solomon
Houston Chronicle: Houston Methodist suspends River Oaks doctor for spreading COVID misinformation (If this link is behind their paywall, read it here.)
Emily, I only wish i knew a way to help you. It appears that companies like Facebook and Twitter have been allowed to grow way too strong. I could go on and on about communist and socialist countries censorship of citizens and you are well versed in history, but it won't help you now. I'm willing to help if I can. Please keep sharing the truth Emily!
Considering the stories I keep reading about hospitals swamped with patients suffering from mysterious heart ailments -that "have nothing to do with the covid vaccinations", I wonder if this isn't actually an attempt to cut down the potential overcrowding? Or a way to deal with a nurse and doctor shortage after their earlier stupidity?
On your Facebook difficulties, have you looked into all the replacement sites that are being set up? I realize they are clunky and don't have the reach Facebook does but on the other hand, some of them are going to grow while Facebook is already at market saturation and is going to fade as it loses customers. Insulting and canceling half of their customer base isn't good business. You aren't unhappy to be absent from Yahoo or AOL, are you?
When the web was still pretty young, I thought about starting a blog. Instapundit was new and Glenn Reynolds sounded like he was struggling with finances back then. I thought it was a good time to get in and compete, though as things turned out, my time and energies went in other directions. I've thought about it since then but it has gotten to be a much bigger pond in which I would be a very small minnow.
I never signed up with Facebook. It seemed too intrusive and too much of a time sink. I have signed up with MeWe, Clouthub, Locals and Gab since the election. I don't know which will survive but I want to support Facebook alternatives even if I don't use them much. One of the problems is that much of the current posting is amateurish and crude. If you and other serious writers like you would post on them, they would grow and improve immensely. You would shine on any of them compared to Facebook where you are just one of many, and suppressed at that. With the advent of these Facebook alternatives, I think this may be a second chance for bloggers to get noticed and to stand out from the crowd.
On a more concrete level, I think my wife needs a subscription to your blogs too. I'll get her one.