Nurse with HCV sues hospitals for discrimination
July 1, 2000 2 minutes read
Nurse with HCV sues hospitals for discrimination
Lawsuits claim hospitals violated confidentiality
A New Jersey nurse has sued two hospitals, saying they discriminated against her in hiring because she is infected with the hepatitis C virus.
The nurse, Susan DeGregorio, worked as head nurse in the emergency department at Hackensack (NJ) University Medical Center and then as director of emergency services at Newark Beth Israel. She was planning to return to Hackensack in a position in critical care when her problems began, says her attorney, Pamela Giannotto.
DeGregorio had given notice in the job in Newark and believed she had been offered the job in Hackensack when she began to get the runaround, says Giannotto, who practices in Hackensack.
"She feels that the hospital did not want to put her in the position because she has hepatitis C," her attorney says.
Furthermore, DeGregorio also asserts that hospital employees violated medical confidentiality in spreading information about her HCV status. She discovered that she was infected with HCV when she donated some of her own blood for a cervical procedure at Hackensack. She may have been infected several years before through a needlestick; she had been tested for HIV exposure at the time but not for HCV.
In a legal filing in response to the suit, Hackensack University Medical Center denied discriminating against the nurse and said no job had been offered. The hospital also denied breaching medical confidentiality.
DeGregorio also had applied for a cardiac care nursing job advertised at The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood. She was offered a job working in the hospital’s hospice care unit, while she asserts the hospital hired applicants for the higher-paying cardiac care job who were no more qualified than she was.
DeGregorio had received liver treatment from a doctor affiliated with The Valley Hospital, according to the suit she filed. In a legal response, Valley denied her charges of discrimination and unauthorized disclosure of confidential medical information. The hospital also stated that she was not qualified for the cardiac position.
HCV guidelines published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta do not recommend restricting "professional activities" of health care workers with HCV. Standard precautions, such as the use of gloves, should be followed, the guidelines state.
DeGregorio has sued under state law. "The New Jersey law against discrimination protects people who are suffering from a handicap or who are perceived to be suffering from a handicap," says Giannotto.
DeGregorio has asked for unspecified damages, lost wages, and court costs.
You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
- Award-winning Medical Content
- Latest Advances & Development in Medicine
- Unbiased Content