Parents Claim They Couldn't Get Access To Their Newborns Due To Birth Of Jay-Z And Beyonce's Baby
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Beyonce and Jay-Z welcomed their daughter Blue Ivy Carter this weekend, and issued the following statement Monday:
Hello Hello Baby Blue! We are happy to announce the arrival of our beautiful daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, born on Saturday, January 7, 2012. Her birth was emotional and extremely peaceful, we are in heaven. She was delivered naturally at a healthy 7 lbs and it was the best experience of both of our lives.
We are thankful to everyone for all your prayers, well wishes, love and support.
- Beyoncé & JAY Z
However, the joyous occasion has landed Lenox Hill Hospital in the middle of a controversy.
One new parent at the hospital is furious, claiming Blue Ivy's arrival kept them from spending time with their own newborns in intensive care.
Neil Nash-Coulon of Bedford-Stuyvesant said hospital security kept putting the hallway on lockdown to accommodate Beyonce's visitors.
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"People don't need to be treated like this when dealing with sick children," Coulon said.
Coulon said Lenox Hill Hospital kept his family out of the waiting area.
"They should have been more strategic with where they put her," Coulon said. "You can't cordon off the [Neonatal Intensive Care Unit]. These are small newborns who need care, and you're just going to take over the hospital like you own it?"
Furious new dad Edgar Ramirez told CBS 2's Hazel Sanchez the superstars' security wouldn't let him into the intensive care unit to see his newborn daughter, Charlotte.
"I was arguing with the security guards to go see my baby. 'Why not? We can't, we can't.' I couldn't see my baby until three hours later because of the security," Ramirez said.
Lenox Hill Hospital Executive Director Frank Danza issued the following statement in response to what he calls inaccurate news media reports regarding the presence of the Carter family at the hospital:
"Lenox Hill Hospital and its staff were delighted to welcome the Carter family for the birth of their firstborn on Saturday evening, but we are troubled by the misinformation being circulated in some news media reports. The suggestion that the couple paid $1.3 million to rent an entire maternity floor is simply not true. The family is housed in an executive suite at the hospital and is being billed the standard rate for those accommodations.
Our executive suites are available for any patient, including the food service and amenities provided to the Carter family.
The family does have its own security detail on site. However, the hospital has been and continues to be in control of managing all security at the facility. We have made every effort to ensure minimal disruption to other families experiencing the births of their own children over the past three days. No security plan that we or the Carter's security team put in place would have prevented or delayed families from gaining access to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), and to date, no families have complained to the hospital about being denied access to the NICU.
Lenox Hill Hospital takes patient privacy and safety very seriously. And while we congratulate the Carter family on the birth of their child, we value the loyalty of ALL of our patients and always strive to ensure a positive experience, knowing that the birth of a child is a wonderful moment producing memories that last a lifetime."
Coulon said his family and other patients affected deserve an apology.
"We shouldn't have to deal with drama because they're superstars... It isn't fair," he said.
Patient advocates said if the allegations are true the hospital needs to make ammends.
"When their privacy interferes with the privacy of other rights of patients or rights of other families who are caring for those parents, that's really when the line is crossed," Dr. Paul Appelbaum told CBS 2's Sanchez.
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