Registered nurse Kristine Kassner is suing Eisenhower Medical Center, her former employer, for wrongful termination.
The complaint names individuals Wendy Edwards, vice president of the 24/7 Recognition care unit, and Connie Head, director of 24/7 Recognition care, and accuses EMC of wrongful termination and 10 other labor-related violations, including failure to pay overtime, failure to provide meal periods, and retaliation in violation of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act.
The suit was filed on her behalf by attorney Jeff Rager, of the El Segundo-based law firm Rager and Yoon, on Jan. 8. Rager also represented Dr. Richard Loftus, the former assistant program director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program at Eisenhower Medical Center, in a successful suit against EMC regarding executives’ resistance to his COVID-19 safety recommendations.
During a recent interview with Kassner and Rager, Kassner explained what motivated her to take legal action.
“I was questioning the things that were happening when leadership changed (in the 24/7 Recognition unit),“ Kassner said. “I kept questioning and thinking: If you talk about it, if you explain it, if you expose it, then they will do the right thing, and change as things come to light. Unfortunately, that did not happen, and then I was wrongfully terminated. So, I contacted Mr. Rager to assist me.”
Rager explained the lawsuit’s goals.
“From a legal perspective, what we’re looking to do is expose the issues that need to be remedied,” Rager said. “Also, we’re looking for justice, and justice takes many different forms, one of which is public scrutiny, and the second of which is compensation for the derailing of (Kassner’s) career.”
Kassner, who was employed at EMC from September 2015 to September 2025, makes a variety of claims in the lawsuit. One claim: She and other 24/7 nurses were required to help with a new, for-profit concierge home health-care service being launched internally.
“They were using the (nonprofit entity’s) 24/7 staff to set it up … to do policies, to do everything,” she said. “So, they were utilizing their (nonprofit) staff and their resources for this for-profit business. And when this first was mentioned, I questioned … the legality of it, and also let them know that I did not want to participate in this nonprofit working at the for-profit (arrangement).”
However, the most interesting claim, as far as the public is concerned, concerns how EMC’s 24/7 Recognition unit assists big-money donors.
The Eisenhower Health Foundation (EHF) website describes the 24/7 Recognition unit, where Kassner worked for the last seven years of her employment with EMC, this way: “For those making gifts totaling $300,000 or more, this unique program is Eisenhower’s way of saying ‘thank you.’ 24/7 members are proudly recognized in the hospital’s main lobby.” On ensuing web pages, EHF says: “24/7 Recognition members enjoy access to a dedicated nursing team offering a streamlined, rapid-response experience. Your 24/7 nurse is focused on delivering the best possible outcome.” And: “Our 24/7 nursing staff is available by phone around the clock, seven days a week, to answer questions and assist with your health care needs. With access to the Renker Pavilion for any overnight stays, assistance with finding a physician, scheduling appointments, hospital admission, emergency department response, transfers to Eisenhower and medical records management.”
Kassner claims 24/7 Recognition personnel delivered to these donors much more than the website says.
“This is the selling point: You have 24/7 services,” Kassner said. “… You will get preferential treatment for appointments. You’ll get into see specialists (whose) practice may be closed to the general public. You will have … access to your own special lab, so when you walk into the labs, you will not be waiting in line. You will head right back and be immediately served. In the emergency room, it’s the same thing.”
The lawsuit claims: “The team works (for donors) to get preferential treatment at the expense of the rest of the patients. More specifically, these donors were brought immediately into the emergency department and given beds while other members of the general public would wait, at times, for 10-12 hours to be seen. They were moved to the front of the line for emergent medical care based upon their donations, not acuity. Further, the donors would get preferential appointments which could be accommodated by bumping an existing appointment or creating appointments in already busy calendars. Staff would also meet donors in the parking lot for drive through drop off of lab specimens.”
Kassner elaborated in the interview with the Independent: “Back in the day, the departments would cancel appointments of normal patients to accommodate the needs of a priority donor,” Kassner said. “If a 24/7 member said, ‘I want my MRI done on Friday at 10’clock,’ and that appointment slot was already taken, then the imaging department would call up and cancel that patient, and put one of our 24/7 members (in that time slot). That practice has ceased, so now they just cannot dictate what day they want their appointment. But still, we used to kindly persuade the scheduling department to get our patients in earlier … during a timeframe, if (patients) were going to be leaving for the season. If the schedulers did not accommodate our request, it would be escalated up to the director of the department to make sure that it happened. Also, (EMC) would leave certain slots open in case there’s an emergency in the community. But they would be known to give those appointments to 24/7 members, especially ambassadors. Ambassadors are members that have donated more than $1 million, and they get treatment that’s 24/7 treatment … on steroids.”
The EHF website says about ambassadors: “To be included among the Eisenhower Ambassadors is truly a mark of distinction. They are the very embodiment of the You+Eisenhower ethos, extending beyond financial support to provide credibility, connections and the conviction to manifest our beliefs and aspirations.” As for “How It Works,” the site says, “Eisenhower Ambassador is the highest level of donor recognition, acknowledging our most dedicated supporters. Members of this prestigious group have not only made donations at or above the $1 million level, they have wielded their influence to bring in millions more in Eisenhower’s pursuit of medical excellence. Donors at this level are recognized in the main lobby of the hospital.”
The lawsuit claims: “The team works (for donors) to get preferential treatment at the expense of the rest of the patients. More specifically, these donors were brought immediately into the emergency department and given beds while other members of the general public would wait, at times, for 10-12 hours to be seen.”
Kassner said that during her tenure with EMC’s 24/7 Recognition team, they used a workaround strategy to get 24/7 patients into concierge medical practices within the EMC organizational structure. Any participating concierge doctor must stop accepting new patients when a pre-determined maximum patient cap is reached, to guarantee all patients paying the annual surcharge could receive the promised benefits.
“Regardless (of whether) you were a 24/7 member, if you called up and said, ‘I’d like to be part of your service,’ (the concierge doctor who’d reached their cap) would say, ‘I’m sorry, but we’re full.’ But, if on behalf of a 24/7 member, (a staff member would) call up and say, ‘This is for a 24/7 member, or an ambassador, or they did this; can you put them into your service?’ ‘Oh, yes, we can,’ they would say. That was another (benefit) of being part of 24/7, even though you still had to pay for your concierge. The general public might not be able to get to that doctor, but a 24/7 patient could.”
Over the last seven or eight years, according to Kassner, the number of patients who donated $300,000 or more, and were enrolled in the 24/7 Recognition program as a result, has increased from roughly 1,000 to 3,000. All of these VIP patients expect preferential medical treatment and special attention.
“Here’s where it crosses the legal and ethical lines,” said Rager. “You can provide superior service. You can provide amenities such as coming to get you out of your car. You can provide trinkets, and you can provide all the administrative-type services that don’t cross the line to preferential clinical care that trumps the regular triage process that everyone else is entitled to as a (normal) part of the general public being serviced by EMC. So, that’s where it gets into something that is not allowed—if and when you’re crossing that clinical line. … that’s where it gets to more than just VIP service.”
The Independent reached out to Eisenhower Health for comment, and received this response: “Eisenhower Health does not comment on pending litigation. We intend to vigorously defend against the claims made in the lawsuit, and look forward to presenting the facts through the appropriate legal process.”
