Lizzy Mathews, 65, filed suit against Denver Health Medical Center on Saturday
A nurse has sued her former hospital claiming that she was fired for supporting President Donald Trump during the election campaign.
Lizzy Mathews, 65, filed the federal lawsuit against Denver Health Medical Center on Saturday, seeking back pay and punitive damages for emotional pain and suffering.
Mathews believes her firing stems from an incident on September 10, 2016, when she was caring for a patient who was formerly a high-ranking employee at the hospital, the Denver Post reported.
When the patient asked her what she thought about the presidential election, Mathews told him that Trump would win and she was ‘praying for him’.
The patient replied to her, ‘Oh no, I don’t want him to be’, the suit claims.
‘As a public hospital, Denver Health has a proud history of diversity and inclusiveness and is welcoming to all,’ the hospital said in a statement
Three days later, the hospital nursing manager fired Mathews and told her that a patient had complained about a conversation she’d had with him about the election, the suit claims.
The nursing manager also asked Mathews if she’d urged the patient to read the Bible, which the nurse denied, according to the complaint.
The suit also alleges that Mathews was discriminated against ethnically.
Matthews is of Asian and Indian ethnicity, and was born in India in 1952 but has lived in the United States since 1983, according to her lawsuit.
She earned a nursing degree from Hamidia Medical College Hospital in Bhopal, India, in 1977 and went on to study psychiatric nursing at the Front Range Community College in Denver.
Mathews said a patient complained after he asked her what she thought of the presidential election and she said she hoped Trump would win
The hospital responded in a statement to KDVR.
‘As a matter of policy, Denver Health does not comment on pending litigation,’ the statement said.
‘As a public hospital, Denver Health has a proud history of diversity and inclusiveness and is welcoming to all,’ the statement continued.
‘We have staff members from a variety of backgrounds with a variety of beliefs and work diligently to ensure Denver Health continues to provide an environment in which everyone can feel comfortable delivering or receiving our world-class care.’