Michigan hospital sued after honoring woman's request for "white nurse only"

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3rd Michigan hospital faces suit alleging it honored patient request for care only by white nurses

In the lawsuit, Teoka Williams, RN, alleges that on Oct. 2 she heard a patient say she did not want any black caregivers. Ms. Williams says she told the clinical manager, who then spoke to the patient. The clinical manager then reportedly told Ms. Williams not to enter the patient's room or care for her. A white nurse was asked to care for the patient.

Ms. Williams also alleges that she told the human resources department about the incident and was told "patient requests are honored all the time and that the next time it happened, she would be taken off the assignment altogether," News 5 Cleveland reports.

I wasn't working the night it happened. Many years ago we had a patient in ICU who didn't want a black nurse......ha ha. The staff that night just happened to be 3 black nurses plus a black respiratory therapist. I don't know what happened.

Should have let the bigot shuffle his/her mortal coil

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Specializes in Stepdown . Telemetry.

This is not what it seems according to the article. This nurse was forced to maintain accountability for the racist pt in conditions that were unsafe-while still being the primary nurse, she was not allowed to do so safely by being barred from the room due to the color of her skin.

Essentially this is what it boils down to. The way the hospital dealt with the situation-this is not about a racist patient. We deal with the public so they are bound to be present.

The hospital altered this person's work conditions in a discriminatory way. This is how I see this.

No one should have to go to work and have their employer creating an altered work environment for a certain minority based on this difference.

Had they relinquished this nurse's responsibility for the racist patient-yes that would be different.

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This is not what it seems according to the article. This nurse was forced to maintain accountability for the racist pt in conditions that were unsafe-while still being the primary nurse, she was not allowed to do so safely by being barred from the room due to the color of her skin.

Essentially this is what it boils down to. The way the hospital dealt with the situation-this is not about a racist patient. We deal with the public so they are bound to be present.

The hospital altered this person's work conditions in a discriminatory way. This is how I see this.

No one should have to go to work and have their employer creating an altered work environment for a certain minority based on this difference.

Had they relinquished this nurse's responsibility for the racist patient-yes that would be different.

I agree that not removing her from the assignment puts things in a different light.

How can a nurse be assigned to a patient they are not allowed to personally assess?

If this is true, she was placed in a position of risking her license. Not cool.

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Specializes in Stepdown . Telemetry.
Ok...

So what if that same Muslim family said I dont want a Jew taking care of my family. Is that ok then because Jewish is a religion...

Even if hateful bigotry were part of a person's religion, its still bigotry and is not the same as a Muslim wanting a female.

Its just not. Its part of ideology. Its not something that should be respected...it's destructive for all the reasons that continue to be argued.

I don't think bigotry should be tolerated no matter the motive, including a religious ieological bigotry.

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Specializes in Critical care, tele, Medical-Surgical.

Once when I was charge nurse we had a patient from a Southern state who had an MI while vacationing in Socal. He was scheduled for a CABG in the morning. He was on a NTG drip. a Heparin drip. )2, and an intra aortic balloon pump (IABP). Only two of us on that shift were IABP certified so, as charge, I assigned that patient to a fellow nurse.

After she introduced herself to him he turned on the cll light. The patient said, "I don't want that n***** in my room."

I told him she was the only nurse on duty expert in the care of a person needing that equipment.

She had the right touch with that guy! She had to shave him. Once I heard her tell him, "You aren't my favorite kind of patient either. When I have to put people on the cardiac monitor I prefer no hairy chest and no boobs. You have both. But you can't help it so I'll take excellent care of you in spite of it.

She explained how the IABP worked, showed him pictures from a book, and stayed with him all night.

In the morning I helped get all the equipment ready for transport to the OR. He told me, "I want ***** to take care of me when I come out of surgery.

I told him she would be home sleeping, but he would have an expert cardiac surgery nurse assigned when he returned.

That night he was doing great! He praised the nurse he had initially refused.

Usually such a turn around doesn't happen, but that time it did. She had that frightened man laughing.

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After reading this I understand why she sued the hospital .

Pretty sure that the way they went about it is wrong and illegal in many ways...she was forced to assume risk of the patient but not going to even see them?

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