By Lauren Trager and Jordan Gartner
Published: May. 22, 2024 at 10:01 PM EDT
ST. LOUIS (KMOV/Gray News) - A few words. A Missouri man says that’s all it took for him to be removed from receiving life-saving medical treatment.
But exactly what he said matters.
Was it a threat? Or something less harmful? And should he be punished for it — with his life?
KMOV reports that 81-year-old Gene Pelloquin spends a lot of time alone. When not on the porch, he’s slowly making his way to his car, sliding in behind the wheel to drive himself to the emergency room, all to sit there alone again and wait — not for an emergency, but for a routine procedure twice a week.
“They put two needles in your arm. They draw blood and circulate it through the machine to clean it,” he said.
For the past 10 years, three days a week, Pelloquin has been treating his end-stage renal disease at a Davita dialysis center in Creve Coeur. That is, until recently.
A letter from last December stated he “will no longer be able to seek treatment there,” citing his words as a direct threat to the health and safety of people at the facility.
Escalating disputes, he said, with a worker had angered him. Did he mention a gun? Yes, he said he prayed he didn’t bring one in. He insists he never meant to harm anyone.
“Check my record. I’m 81 years old. There hasn’t even been a ticket. They can check all that. I don’t have any kind of record,” he said.
But with the threat now on his record, Pelloquin can no longer get care at any DaVita location.
His daughter says that with it in his medical records, other companies are rejecting him, too.
“Lord, what has happened? You know? Because it’s like what are you going to do?” Wanda Pelloquin, his daughter, said.
Though he’d never hurt anyone, his daughter said she has taken his gun away from him as a precaution.
Emergency room staff said Gene Pelloquin was not presenting imminent danger to himself or to others.
Police were called after he left, but the 81-year-old is currently not facing any charges regarding the incident.
“I don’t think that it’s fair to cut someone off completely, knowing that that’s the only way they are staying alive,” Wanda Pelloquin said.
Unable to comment on his case specifically, in a statement, a DaVita spokesperson wrote the following:
“Ensuring the safety of our patients and teammates is a responsibility we take very seriously. If a patient threatens violence, we work closely with the patient’s entire care team, including their outside physician, to determine the best course of action.”
According to Gene Pelloquin, the punishment is too severe.
“They’re killing me. Legally. If I can’t get treatment, if you don’t get treatment for three or four weeks, you’re dead,” he said.
“This is a major problem, and it’s a national problem. And I think it’s very, very little understood,” said Tom Mueller, an author of a book specific to this issue.
An issue called involuntary discharge.
Federal law allows dialysis facilities to refuse treatment if they have, “determined that the patient’s behavior is disruptive and abusive to the extent that the delivery of care to the patient or the ability of the facility to operate effectively is seriously impaired.”
Mueller added, “In many cases, I was able to determine that those accusations were false.”
While he says there should be due process and chances to appeal, regulators, he said, are often understaffed or ill-equipped to handle the cases.
“I think the foxes are guarding the henhouse here. That’s my opinion,” Mueller said.
Missouri health officials have flagged providers 11 times since October 2018 for violating involuntary discharge procedures, KMOV reports.
“I’ve spoken with a lot of patients who are in that kind of limbo state. And, you know, most of them have died since this book was published,” Mueller said.
While he acknowledges facilities must be safe, he, like others, believes involuntary discharges should only be an option of last resort.
“I don’t know the specifics of this case. But I do know that it fits a general pattern,” he said.
“Words matter and organizations and companies have to take it seriously,” said Michele Vining, a licensed clinical social worker with a background in criminal justice.
Vining added, “The law enforcement side of me was like, oh, we can’t do that. Companies, hospitals, schools, everyone has had to put protocols in place because of the things that have been happening in our society.”
Words, whether on social media or elsewhere, have in fact turned into action time and again. And even words alone can be considered criminal, resulting in charges for what’s called terroristic threats.
The Missouri courts, in recent years, have seen an increase in those cases, to nearly 200 in 2023.
“We are human beings. We have thoughts that come into our minds. We get aggravated, we get angry, we get to be that. Pause. Think before you speak,” Vining said.
Vining says patients who are chronically ill can feel intense emotions.
“Think about the sickest you’ve ever been. You’re not on top of your game. You simply are not,” she said.
Which is why support, she says, is critical.
“I encourage anyone who is having any kind of health crisis to reach out,” Vining said.
Gene Pelloquin says he is remorseful but adamant about never intending to act on any threats.
According to DaVita, cases like this are extremely rare and involve fewer than 0.001% of its patients a year.
Still, his words carry real consequences. Instead of getting dialysis three times a week in a center, Gene Pelloquin waits hours on end in the emergency room, going less often than needed.
His daughter says he is starting to decline health-wise.
“Let me get back into the regular facility is all I want and let me go live the few years I got left,” Gene Pelloquin said.
KMOV reports that patients who get dialysis in a hospital setting, instead of an outpatient center, have a shorter life expectancy, according to doctors.
As far as next steps, experts say it’s often murky regarding an appeal process in a case like this.
Copyright 2024 KMOV via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
