New policies come on the heels of tragic death and denied visitation

Jackson Memorial Hospital, the site of a tragic scene in 2007 when Janice Langbehn was not allowed to see her dying partner of 18 years, Lisa Pond, announced non-discrimination and visitation policies for LGBT patients and their families yesterday. Pond suffered a fatal brain aneurysm while Langbehn was denied the right to see her in the hospital for eight hours before her death.

The shift comes after Lambda Legal filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Langbehn seeking damages for verbal harassment and denied visitation. The lawsuit was eventually thrown out of court because no Florida law required such visitation, but after a year-long review the Jackson Health System, in conjunction with the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association, announced it has revised its policies.

LGBT organizations working with Jackson Health System on this effort included Lambda Legal, the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association, Alliance for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning Youth, Pride Center at Equality Park, CenterLink, Equality Florida, Florida Together, Miami Workers' Center, Out with Cancer, SAVE Dade, and the Transgender Equality Rights Initiative.

Check a Lambda Legal video featuring Langbehn below.

For the full press release, click here.