An African American nurse is suing her hospital after claiming it complied to a new father’s request for “no African American nurses.”
The lawsuit, filed in Flint, Michigan states that Tonya Battle, a hospital employee for 25 years, was reassigned to another patient based on the color of her skin.
The father become upset when he saw Tonya Battle handling his newborn son in the neonatal intensive care unit, and approached the nurse to ask for her supervisor. CNN then reports that the patient showed Battle’s supervisor a swastika tattoo and informed her he did not want an African American nurse caring for his child.
After making its way through management, the unnamed father’s request was granted.
Tonya Battle was informed she was being reassigned by phone, along with an explanation of why. According to WNEM in Michigan, Battle explained to the court:
“[She] was shocked, offended and in disbelief that she was so egregiously discriminated against based on her race and re-assigned.”
When WNEM reached out to Hurley Medical Center about granting the racist request, the hospital responded:
“Hurley Medical Center does not comment on past or current litigation.”
The hospital’s lawyer saw a note placed in the father’s file stating specific instructions for, “no African American nurses… per dad’s request.” He objected to the decision, and it was promptly rescinded.
Regardless, the lawsuit alleges that no African American nurses were assigned to care for the dad’s child for over a month.
Another equal rights case was in the public eye recently when an Ohio mayor tried to get a police officer fired for being gay . In more positive news, Kobe Bryant recently scolded a fan for using a gay slur.
What do yo think? Was the Hurley Medical Center completely out of line for reassigning an African American nurse after a dad’s request?
