Hospitals under the University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS) are denying treatment to a woman who cannot wear a face mask due to a traumatic experience she suffered in childhood.
Sixty-two-year-old Rayne Barton had been a UPHS patient for 40 years due to her several medical issues such as diabetes, kidney issues, spinal stenosis and an implanted pacemaker. Aside from this, she also suffers anxiety whenever her mouth is obstructed by a covering. The Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the subsequent hype on face masks only made things worse.
Back when she was five years old, Barton was assaulted by several teenage boys. "[They put] their fingers down my throat [and put] dirt in my face, up my nose, in my ears and [stepped] on my face. They flipped me over and started rubbing my face into the dirt, where I just couldn't breathe," the 62-year-old shared. While she survived the assault, she carried a fear of having her face covered her entire adult life.
In 2020, she sought treatment for a grapefruit-sized cyst located on the back of a knee. Barton visited Lancaster General Hospital (LGH) in Lancaster, Pennsylvania – which is under UPHS – to have the cyst checked, and a medical worker handed her a mask. However, she suffered an anxiety attack and left the hospital; the cyst remains untreated as of writing.
"I told them that I'm unable to wear a mask because I was assaulted as a child. [The UPHS employee] said, 'we can't help you,'" Barton said, explaining why she didn't push through. Since that moment, she was able to get some medical care through videoconferencing. She was initially allowed to visit LGH for CT scans without a mask, but was no longer allowed to enter unmasked on the second instance.
Barton returned to LGH in December 2021 to talk with a neurologist for her spinal stenosis treatment, but was told to mask up first before entering. Her insistence to get treated forced the hospital to call law enforcement. She and her husband left the hospital to avoid further escalation.
"They said I couldn't go in without a mask, because the doctor I was going to see just got back from getting [chemotherapy] and we can't risk her. Why is she working if she's that fragile? Why is that my responsibility? I don't understand that," she commented. (Related: Coroner's report links face masks to death of hospital patient.)
Hospital responds, insists it's just following CDC guidelines
LGH offered different accommodations for Barton such as a COVID-19 test, but she declined as it involved putting a cotton swab up her nose. While she has sought counseling through the years, she guards her face and avoids situations that require her to cover it.
On Feb. 17, Barton received a letter from LGH informing her that the provider-patient relationship had been terminated. The letter argued that she had refused accommodations and had been "rude and argumentative to staff." She was also banned from seeking non-emergency medical treatment at the hospital, with LGH officials adding that they will happily facilitate the transfer of [her] records to an alternative provider.
She then called LGH CEO John Herman, but was unable to connect with him directly. Barton received another letter in March, this time from LGH Executive Director of Legal Services Kathyrn Weinrich, warning that her calls to Herman amounted to harassment. Weinrich's letter stated that Barton is to have no further contact with LGH, other UPHS hospitals and other satellite offices.
LGH Public Relations and Corporate Communications Director John Lines said in a provided statement: "While we are unable to discuss specific patient situations, we follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for patients and visitors – including guidelines for accommodations that enable the delivery of effective care, while ensuring the safety of all our patients and providers."
"There's nothing I can do. I've been under [the UPHS] umbrella and part of their family for the last 40 years. If my family can't take care of me, surely a stranger can't. If they can call me and tell me to come get treatment without a mask, I'll go. But I'm not going to stand and fight for it anymore. I'm tired [and] I'm too old to have to fight for medical care," said Barton.
MedicalFascism.news has more on patients being denied treatment due to mask and vaccine mandates.
Watch the footage of a British man denied treatment at the Manchester Royal Infirmary in the United Kingdom for not wearing a mask below.
This video is from the Jay channel on Brighteon.com.
More related news:
Dr. Lee Merritt: Mask wearing was never about controlling the virus.
Texas doctor who succumbed to COVID-19 was wearing same N95 mask for weeks.
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