Hi Ozzie:
One wonders how hospital staff in emergency departments would have "reason to believe he (the unconscious patient) is a Witness.
I've mentioned this before, but it bears repeating. Hospitals will keep records on file from previous admissions. If a patient has previously noted to the hospital staff that they are JW, that will come up on the screen. That is why it is so important to keep your medical and hospital information up-to-date.
For example, I had a minor surgery done in 1993, while I was still a JW. A few years later, after we had left the Org, I enrolled in a diabetic education class with a classmate (as part of my nurses' training, not because I am diabetic) at the same hospital. For record keeping purposes, I obtained an ID card for the instructor to use when stamping the attendance sheet. In the section reserved for religious affiliation, there it was as clear as day: JW. I went to the admitting department and had them delete that information off my record. I did the same thing at the hospital where I now work, because two of my children were born there, and my records showed that I was registered as a JW.
The other thing that could possibly happen is if a JW works in the emergency department and thinks they recognize you. That's a little more difficult, but not very likely.
If you aren't DFd or DAd, and you don't want the hospital contacting the HLC, you MUST have any reference to the JWs deleted from your hospital records. If you're in a life threatening situation, and unconscious, you really don't want some boneheaded elder making a decision to refuse blood transfusions on your behalf.
Better still, the Living Will/Advance Medical Directive/ID card is another option that you can use - like the NO BLOOD card, it tells medical personnel that you have medical conditions, medications that you take in what dosages, allergies, etc, and what you will and will not accept in terms of treatment in the event that you are unable to give verbal or written consent to treatment. It's best to draw this up with a lawyer to ensure that your wishes are respected.
Love, Scully
