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Caregivers accuse Zeeland medical center of honoring racist patients request

The allegations are part of a federal lawsuit filed last week by a few of its current and former employees.

A Zeeland medical center is being accused of allowing its patient to choose their caregiver by race. The allegations are part of a federal lawsuit filed last week by a few of its current and former employees.

Six employees accused the center of race discrimination, race harassment, and retaliation. The lawsuit alleges the facility honored patients request for white-only caregivers. It's something those employees claim has been going on for years.

"It's embarrassing and humiliating and it shouldn't be tolerated," attorney Julie Gafkay told 13 On Your Side.

Gafkay represents the African American Certified Nursing Assistants that filed this suit. In it they claim, over the last few years, some residents of the medical facility requested they did not want African Americans caring for them and the facility allegedly granted these requests and put it in the patients care plan or failed to address it.

The suit alleges if they did have to care for someone whose request wasn't addressed, they were called racist names by the patient.

"We're not going to change a patients mind necessarily and it's not the employees or the facilities job to do that," Gafkay said.

"But it is their job to not grant a request of care based on race. If the patient doesn't want to be cared for, even when the facility says you cannot dictate your care based on race, then that patient has the absolute right to go somewhere else."

A spokesperson for Providence Life, the faith-based parent company, couldn't comment on the allegation due to the pending litigation but did say that Providence does not modify staff assignments based on race.

"Providence takes its employees' concerns about their working environment very seriously as it recognizes the importance of providing a positive workplace for its employees and other healthcare providers assisting its residents," Sheila King, a spokesperson for Providence Life, said.

"Respecting the dignity of each person is a key value for both Providence staff and residents."

The plaintiffs are asking to be compensated for their mental anguish, emotional distress, and the damage done to their professional reputation.

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