FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WFFT) — A former nurse at a Fort Wayne hospital no longer works for the company after a video, shared by thousands of users, on social media showed her making insensitive comments about Black people.
Many people took to Facebook and Twitter and reacted to the video of the woman, who was a nurse for Lutheran Hospital at the time and then reached out to hospital officials calling for the woman's termination.
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Lutheran Hospital
Kara Stevenson with Lutheran Health Network said they were unable to be interviewed Wednesday, but provided FOX 55 with the following statement:
"The social media content you referenced do not reflect our values.
The individual who posted those comments is no longer employed by Lutheran Hospital.
Lutheran Hospital is committed to diversity and equality for all members of our community, and we strive to create an inclusive environment for employees to work and patients to receive care.
All individuals in our facilities are to be treated with dignity and respect.
We do not exclude people or treat anyone differently based on personal characteristics such as race."
We spoke with the woman who the video was directed towards, and she says she hopes this will be a way to educate others in different workplaces across the country.
"Black privilege doesn't exist," says Rachel Goodwin. "I'd rather educate and take the opportunity to educate her and someone else who is watching."
Lutheran Officials did not indicate if they fired the woman or if she resigned.
LHN issued a statement on its Facebook page Wednesday evening which said:
"Lutheran Health Network is here to support the health and well-being of our community.
In light of recent events, we want to reaffirm our commitment to diversity and inclusion.
We are committed to treating each person with dignity and respect and holding ourselves to the highest ethical standards of behavior - for all people.
Maintaining an environment of diversity for employees and patients is our foundation for delivering quality, compassionate healthcare."
Many who emailed LHN officials received the same response regarding the woman's current employment status with the hospital and their values.
Quick action by LHN officials. @FOX55FortWayne https://t.co/xxJY6VSEK1
— Jake Thomas (@JakeTTweets) June 24, 2020
Two video clips of the incident can be found here.
