NYC Council Members Call On Hospitals To Keep Reality TV Out Of ERs
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Members of the New York City Council are taking aim at hospitals that violate patients' privacy rights.
As 1010 WINS' Mona Rivera reported, a letter was sent to hospitals throughout New York City demanding hospital officials keep reality TV shows out of their emergency rooms.
NYC Council Members Call On Hospitals To Keep Reality TV Out Of ERs
The letter was signed by 33 members of the City Council, including Councilman Dan Garodnick.
"Patients in our hospitals deserve to know that their sensitive moments will not be used for entertainment," said Garodnick.
The move comes after a patient, Mark Chanko, died at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and his widow was stunned to later see his death on the reality TV show "New York Med," Rivera reported.
"I actually watched my husband die in front of my eyes," she said.
The widow said the family did not know about or consent to the broadcast.
Currently, there is pending state legislation that would make such a broadcast without consent illegal, but the City Council members are urging hospitals to make a proactive commitment moving forward.
