A former Kaiser Permanente psychiatrist who rose to a leadership position inside one of Northern California’s busiest emergency psychiatric departments has filed a lawsuit alleging racism, discrimination, and illegal treatment of vulnerable psychiatric patients. Dr. Pachida Lo, who served as as sistant chief of psychiatry and co-chair of the hospital’s Bioethics Committee, filed the lawsuit in Alameda County after resigning from Kaiser in March. Kaiser denies the allegations. According to the lawsuit, Lo reported what she believed were discriminatory comments, unethical conduct and civil rights violations of psychiatric patients to hospital leadership and human resources. The daughter of Hmong refugees who fled Laos after the Vietnam War, Lo said her family’s experience inspired her to become a psychiatrist and advocate for underserved communities. She joined Kaiser South Sacramento in 2017 and was promoted to assistant chief of psychiatry in the emergency department four years later after receiving multiple recognitions for her work. Dr. Pachida Lo at 8 years old. Dr. Lo comes from a family of Hmong refugees and says her background inspired her career in mental health. According to the lawsuit, Lo witnessed employees using racist and sexually derogatory language to describe Black and Asian patients, mocking accents, and making offensive comments about coworkers. The complaint also describes employees playing Cards Against Humanity at work and one exchange in which the answer to a question about ending racism was, “Put all Black people in jail.” “Patients were dehumanized, and particularly our black and our Asian patients who had serious mental health symptoms who were seeking care in the emergency room. They were being referred to by derogatory terms that were racially and sexually charged”, Lo said. “Patients were dehumanized, and particularly our black and our Asian patients who had serious mental health symptoms who were seeking care in the emergency room. They were being referred to by derogatory terms that were racially and sexually charged”Dr. Pachida Lo Lo alleges the conduct extended beyond offensive language and into patient care. The lawsuit accuses staff of improperly involving law enforcement in psychiatric cases by calling police and searching patients’ criminal histories. It also alleges psychiatric patients were unlawfully kept on involuntary holds longer than allowed and antipsychotic medication was administered without consent in some cases. Dr. Pachida Lo was assistant chief of psychiatry at Kaiser South Sacramento’s emergency department One of the lawsuit’s central allegations involves a Black patient admitted to Kaiser in 2022 on a 72-hour psychiatric hold. According to the complaint, the patient was discharged to law enforcement instead of receiving continued psychiatric treatment after attempting to leave the hospital and steal a car. “Kaiser deprived him of the specialized psychiatric care that he desperately needed,” Lo said. The incident triggered an investigation from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). According to records cited in the lawsuit and reviewed by NBC Bay Area, investigators with the Centers for Medicare Medicaid Services identified four deficiencies, including failures involving patient stabilization and the transfer of a psychiatric patient. Lo’s attorney, Nate Smith, argues the allegations point to systemic failures rather than isolated misconduct. “This is not a problem about individual bad actors. This is a problem about Kaiser.” The lawsuit alleges Lo repeatedly reported her concerns through management and human resources but was instead labeled “anti-white” by coworkers. According to the complaint, an internal HR investigation concluded some workplace conduct was inappropriate but did not find it unlawful. Dr. Pachida Lo shares details of her lawsuit against Kaiser Permanente with investigative reporter Hilda Gutiérrez. Lo also alleges Kaiser retaliated against her by removing managerial responsibilities, reducing her shifts and cutting her pay before she ultimately resigned. In court filings, Kaiser denied all allegations and argued the complaint fails to state valid legal claims. The healthcare system also contends its employment decisions were unrelated to Lo’s complaints and argues she failed to mitigate her damages or exhaust internal remedies. In a statement to our newsroom, Kaiser said it could not comment on pending litigation or personnel matters, but added it is “committed to addressing issues that arise in the workplace and preventing behavior that is harassing, discriminatory, or retaliatory.” Lo says she decided to come forward because she believes patients deserve accountability. “I hope that my patients in South Sacramento will feel empowered to speak up the next time they’re seeking care and they don’t feel right.” To contact investigative reporter Hilda Gutierrez, email [email protected] ...read more read less