A Lawton nursing home is facing a federal lawsuit after firing a wound care nurse just three days after she returned from approved back surgery, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The agency alleges Willow Park Healthcare Center and its management company violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by denying proper accommodations, harassing the nurse before her procedure, and retaliating against her once she came back.
The federal suit, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Southwest LTC - Lawton LLC et al., was filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma under case number 5:26-cv-02709-HE and assigned to Judge Joe Heaton, according to PacerMonitor. As The Journal Record reports, the nurse worked at Willow Park when she developed a disabling back condition in 2024 that required surgery, and she told supervisors she would need time away for the operation and recovery.
According to the EEOC, supervisors harassed and intimidated her in the lead-up to her surgery. Willow Park initially approved her request for 12 days of medical leave, but the EEOC alleges the facility fired her just three days after her surgery, claiming it could not hold her wound care position open during her recovery.
A Vacant Position Undercuts the Employer's Defense
That operational justification runs into a problem laid out in the EEOC's own complaint: the agency says Willow Park left the wound care role unfilled for several months after the termination, despite saying it could not hold the position during her recovery, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The administrative record behind the case stretches back further than Wednesday's filing. The nurse, identified in court filings reviewed by PacerMonitor as Hollie Vissepo, first filed an administrative charge of discrimination, Charge No. 564-2024-01914. The EEOC attempted to resolve the dispute through administrative conciliation, but the effort failed.
Regulators Frame the Case as a Warning to Healthcare Employers
EEOC St. Louis District Director David S. Davis said workers should not be punished for seeking medical treatment or needing time to recover from surgery, emphasizing the agency's commitment to enforcing leave protections, per the EEOC's announcement. Andrea G. Baran, regional attorney for the EEOC's St. Louis district, said healthcare employers must follow the law, engage in the required interactive process, and refrain from coercion or threats when workers exercise their ADA rights, according to the Journal Record's report.
The ADA requires reasonable accommodations, which can include medically necessary leave in some circumstances. The case was brought by the EEOC's St. Louis district office.
Companies Named in the Lawsuit
Willow Park Healthcare Center sits at 7019 NW Cache Road in Lawton, a major commercial corridor through the city. The lawsuit names Southwest LTC - Lawton LLC as the local operating entity. It also names its management company, Southwest LTC Management Services LLC, as a defendant.
The Lawton case was among several disability discrimination actions the EEOC announced that day. For now, court proceedings remain in their earliest stages in Oklahoma's Western District, and while the EEOC has determined reasonable cause exists, the allegations against Willow Park Healthcare Center and Southwest LTC Management Services have yet to be tested in federal court.
