Becker's Hospital Review

66 CMO / CARE DELIVERY DMC Sinai-Grace nurses sue Tenet, allege retaliatory firings By Molly Gamble F our nurses and former employees of DMC Sinai-Grace Hospital in Detroit are suing their former employer and its parent company, alleging they were terminat- ed aer speaking out about inadequate staff- ing and patient care during the COVID-19 patient surge. e plaintiffs filed suit June 10 in Wayne County Circuit Court. e complaint claims the defendants — Detroit Medical Center and Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare — violated the Michigan Whistleblowers' Protection Act when their employment was terminated May 6. e plaintiffs are also suing for intention- al infliction of emotional distress. ey each seek $25 million in damages. Each of the former employees raised concerns about patient safety, sufficient staffing and ac- cess to personal protective equipment to hos- pital management, the press and/or local and federal government officials, as detailed in the complaint. ese interactions took place during the surge of COVID-19 patients that occurred in late March through mid-April. Issues raised by the plaintiffs to management include: • One plaintiff was allegedly forced to work back-to-back shis, amounting to 25 straight working hours, from April 5 to April 6. • An alleged lack of oxygen monitoring equipment and patient supervision for numerous patients, which resulted in patients on oxygen machines going un- monitored. • Concern for patients on ventilators and/ or high-dosage medications at high risk for medical emergencies, and how inad- equate conditions at the hospital could cause such an occurrence to go unno- ticed and result in unnecessary patient deaths. e complaint alleged their firings were con- nected to photos leaked to CNN in April, which showed bodies of dead patients stored in vacant rooms and piled up in refrigerat- ed holding units in the parking lot of DMC Sinai-Grace. CNN identified the source of the photos as "emergency room staff at Si- nai-Grace Hospital in Detroit." e plaintiffs told hospital officials they did not take or disclose the photos to CNN, but they were each fired May 6 for "violating var- ious vague policies," according to the com- plaint. A spokesperson for DMC said the system does not comment on litigation and shared the statement DMC provided at the time the former employees were terminated: "Our ethics hotline received complaints that employees had taken inappropriate photos of deceased patients at Sinai Grace Hospital and shared them with other employees. We conducted a comprehensive investigation and took appropriate action based on employee admissions of violations of our patients' right to privacy. We have an unwavering commit- ment and obligation to respect the privacy of our patients and to treat them with dignity and respect. We will not tolerate actions to the contrary. We will continue to uphold our Standards of Conduct applicable to all em- ployees and are grateful for the hundreds of team members at Sinai Grace Hospital whose courageous work and dedication to patients has been inspiring." As for the charge of emotional distress, the complaint said Tenet and DMC "intention- ally and/or recklessly decided to maintain a severely understaffed hospital" despite notice that nurses on the front lines were "over- whelmed by dying patients — patients they could not possibly save all the lives of — and were forced to watch this travesty unfold without having a means to save lives." n News report spurs probe of New Mexico hospital's COVID-19 screening By Mackenzie Bean S tate and federal regulators are investigating claims that Albuquerque, N.M.-based Lovelace Women's Hospital is unfairly targeting Native Amer- ican women through a COVID-19 screening policy, according to a joint report from New Mexico In Depth and ProPublica. The state launched an investigation into the hospital after the publications re- leased an investigative report June 13. Clinicians claimed the hospital encour- aged them to screen all pregnant women who appeared to be Native Amer- ican and told them to cross-reference their ZIP codes with those of known Native American reservations, which have some of the state's highest per cap- ita COVID-19 infection rates. State officials said CMS plans to refer its findings to the HHS Office for Civil Rights. Employees reported that Lovelace was trying to hide documents and discour- age staff from speaking with state investigators about the screening policy, according to New Mexico In Depth and ProPublica. Hospital spokesperson Whitney Marquez declined to comment on accusa- tions that hospital leaders tried to obstruct the investigation. The hospital said it continually modifies screening and testing protocols based on recommended guidelines as the country continues to learn more about this disease, Ms. Marquez told New Mexico In Depth and ProPublica. n

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