A sales representative for the hospice and palliative care firm Vitas claims in a lawsuit that the company has endangered both its own employees and the staff and residents of Bay Area nursing homes during the coronavirus pandemic by presenting its sales as an “essential service.”
Kristina Eisenacher of San Mateo claims her supervisors at Vitas required her to enter health facilities to generate business even after the facilities had stopped letting family members enter to visit loved ones — and despite a recommendation from her doctor that she not do so because she may be especially susceptible to the coronavirus.
Eisenacher alleges in her lawsuit, filed June 16 in Alameda County Superior Court, that Vitas Healthcare, the nation’s largest provider of end-of-life care, told her to get the doctor’s recommendation reversed and then retaliated against her by putting her on unpaid leave.
Kay Van Wey, Eisenacher’s attorney, said that by March 13, long-term care facilities and hospitals had told Vitas that they were allowing only clinical staff to visit their facilities, but Vitas continued to tell its sales representatives to visit nursing homes in person. In the complaint, Eisenacher alleges that Vitas has a robust online platform and that sales reps could work remotely.
Vitas confirmed in a statement on Wednesday that it classified the work of sales representatives as essential, saying they provide important information.
The company said its policies “follow guidance provided by federal, CDC, state and local authorities with regard to the well-being of our staff.”
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
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PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
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