Broadlawns worker sacked after ‘dead calling’, turning away trans patient

Clark Kauffman
| Iowa Capital Dispatch

An employee at Des Moines’ Broadlawns Medical Center has been fired after being accused of flipping and “death-naming” a trans patient.

State records show Tanya Y. Daniels was working as a patient access representative on Sept. 23, 2024, when a clinic manager filed a complaint from a transgender patient.

According to testimony at a recent hearing by public hospital officials, the patient alleged that while Daniels was checking her in for an appointment at Broadlawns, Daniels repeatedly used the wrong pronouns and referred to the patient by her former name — a practice commonly described as “dead names.” . Hospital officials testified that the patient reported that she repeatedly told Daniels her correct name and preferred pronouns, but Daniels continued to misidentify the patient by name and gender.

The patient eventually became upset and sought help from another employee, at which point the patient looked back and allegedly saw Daniels “turn her off” by gesturing at her with a raised middle finger, hospital officials testified.

State records show that the hospital’s clinical director, Krissy Harlow, informed Daniels of the complaint and asked her what had happened. According to the hospital, Daniels told Harlow that the patient had been mumbling and that it was hard to hear, and that the patient’s behavior was “talking to her.” Daniels allegedly admitted to using the patient’s previous name and incorrect pronouns, saying, “I don’t know what to call these people.”

Daniels also allegedly told Harlow that she actually turned the patient away but claimed she didn’t think there was any way the patient could have seen her do it.

A staff representative at Broadlawns then reviewed surveillance footage of the incident, which allegedly showed Daniels turning the patient away in a way the patient could see.

The judge considers that the employee’s dismissal is justified

On September 25, 2024, Broadlawns fired Daniels for violating the organization’s code of conduct. She had been working at the hospital since November 2021.

Daniels subsequently applied for unemployment insurance and collected $1,812 in benefits before the case went before Administrative Law Judge Patrick B. Thomas. After a hearing in the case, Thomas ruled that Daniels was not entitled to unemployment benefits due to workplace misconduct.

Thomas ruled that Daniels “intentionally, repeatedly misgendered a patient checking in for an appointment. Additionally, when the patient became upset with (Daniels) and sought assistance from another staff member, (Daniels) made an offensive gesture directed at the patient who was visible to the patient.”

Thomas found that Daniels’ “conduct in this case was a willful and substantial disregard for the patient’s emotional well-being and for the interests of the employer,” disqualifying her from collecting unemployment benefits.

Because Broadlawns did not participate in the initial hearing related to Daniels’ unemployment claim, Daniels will not have to repay the benefits already collected, Thomas ruled.

The Iowa Capital Dispatch could not reach Daniels for comment.

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