Scott Quiner — a COVID-19 patient who was transferred from Coon Rapids, Minn.-based Mercy Hospital to a Texas care facility after a judge issued a restraining order stopping the hospital from turning off lifesaving machines — has died, according to The New York Times.
The 55-year-old was unvaccinated and had contracted COVID-19 in October. Mr. Quiner had been ventilated after being admitted to Mercy Hospital in November, according to court records cited by the Times.
On Jan. 11, hospital officials told Mr. Quiner's wife, Anne, that they intended to remove him from the ventilator. Ms. Quiner filed an emergency restraining order to stop Mercy Hospital from disconnecting the ventilator, and a judge ruled in favor of the request. The hospital did not give specific reasoning for why it planned to take Mr. Quiner off the ventilator, according to court documents cited by the Times.
Mr. Quiner died Jan. 22 after being moved to a Texas hospital as part of his family's efforts to keep him ventilated, Marjorie Holsten, the family's attorney, told The Associated Press.
"We are saddened to hear about the passing of Scott Quiner and our deepest condolences go out to his family, friends and loved ones," Allina Health, which operates Mercy Hospital, said in a statement cited by the Times. "His passing marks yet another very sad moment as collectively we continue to face the devastating effects of the pandemic."