Dental staff fired after mocking patient’s cancer diary at work
Three women have lost their jobs after being filmed reading aloud a patient’s private details in a horrifying video that quickly went viral.
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Three dental office employees have been fired after a shocking video of them reading a patient’s private cancer diary aloud at work sparked outrage.
The shocking video captured the American employees at Premier Dental Group (PDG) of Knoxville laughing as they read entries which talked about the unidentified woman’s heartbreaking concerns about her treatment options.
Many condemned the video after it quickly went viral, demanding action be taken against the staffers involved, according to local reports.
It’s not clear how staff obtained access to the patient’s private journal, or why they decided to read it.
The disturbing footage was apparently filmed by another staff member who could be heard giggling throughout the “disrespectful” act, the New York Post reports.
“Found a patient’s journal and now it’s story time lmfao,” the employee captioned the video.
A woman in black scrubs can be seen leaning against a desk as she flips through and reads out passages to others in the room describing the radiation treatments the patient faces.
The camera then pans to another employee sitting cross-legged on the office floor, also dressed in her work uniform, and leaning in intently as she hears that there are “not any other treatment options” for the worried patient.
A male employee was also in the room, but he did not intervene or join in with what the women were doing, the video shows.
As the footage spread across social media like wildfire, Premier Dental Group of Knoxville shared an apology on Facebook, acknowledging the “inappropriate video created and shared by some of our employees that addressed an individual’s medical condition in a disrespectful and unprofessional manner”.
“We deeply regret this incident and the hurt [it] has caused,” the practice wrote in the since-deleted statement.
A spokesperson for PDG confirmed to the New York Post the female employees involved in the incident were fired “effective immediately”.
After an investigation, it was determined the male employee did not participate and kept his job, the report added.
“We are committed to maintaining a respectful and professional environment for everyone, and we will continue to take necessary actions to uphold these standards,” the practice said.
However, one of the women involved has broken her silence on the horrifying incident, sharing a “savage response to the backlash” on TikTok, according to MailOnline.
Kelsey Pollard has allegedly shared a video that shows her throwing up a peace sign along with the caption: “When you go viral for being a piece of sh*t.”
Her response, shared to a private TikTok account, was uploaded by the Libs of TikTok on X, formerly known as Twitter. According to the account – Pollard claims there are “two sides” to the story.
It is not the first time PDG of Knoxville has been embroiled in a scandal.
The practice settled a lawsuit last year after prosecutors accused it of scamming TennCare and possibly putting patients in danger, according to KVUE.
The lawsuit alleged that the provider used unqualified dental hygienists, upcoded procedures that weren’t actually needed or performed, and treated patients like “cattle” to try to maximise profits.
Premier Dental Group of Knoxville agreed to pay around $1 million (about $1.5 million Australian dollars) to settle the lawsuit.
Originally published as Dental staff fired after mocking patient’s cancer diary at work
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