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COVID-19
Tim Nelson
St. Paul

Buffalo man at center of life support fight moved to Texas hospital

COVID patients being treated in a hospital
Nurse manager Edgar Ramirez checks on IV fluids while talking to a COVID-19 patient in Los Angeles on Dec. 13. A legal fight over a gravely ill Buffalo, Minn. man's treatment at a Coon Rapids hospital is over after he was transferred to a hospital in Texas. 
Jae C. Hong | AP 2021

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Updated: 4:39 p.m.

A legal fight over a gravely ill Buffalo man's treatment at a Coon Rapids hospital is over after he was transferred to a hospital in Texas. 

Online fundraisers for the family of Scott and Anne Quiner said he was diagnosed with COVID last fall, and has been on a ventilator since before Thanksgiving, gravely ill. 

Marjorie Holsten, an attorney for the Quiners, said she had filed suit to keep Mercy Hospital from ending treatment for Quiner. Anoka County court records indicate Scott Quiner had given his wife medical power of attorney to decide on his care. 

The filing said hospital officials had indicated they were preparing to turn off Scott Quiner’s ventilator, a step that his supporters said would end his life. 

Holsten said Quiner was flown to Texas for treatment in Texas on Saturday and doctors are evaluating him. 

“Babysteps in the right direction. He was heavily sedated, which is something you need to do when they're on a ventilator, and so they're weaning him off of those,” Holsten said in an interview with MPR News. 

An Anoka County judge had temporarily granted a motion and set a hearing to argue removing Quiner from life support on Feb. 11.

Allina Health, which operates Mercy, said in a statement it could not comment on specifics of the case, but wished Quiner and his family well.

“Allina Health has great confidence in the exceptional care provided to our patients, which is administered according to evidence-based practices by our talented and compassionate medical teams. Due to patient privacy, we cannot comment on care provided to specific patients,” the statement said. “Allina Health continues to wish the patient and family well. Any information regarding the patient’s on-going care should be directed to his current medical provider.”