
DATE: Friday, October 10, 1997              TAG: 9710100632

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B5   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MARC DAVIS, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:  118 lines

LUNG CANCER FELLS PATIENT WHO WAS FIRED BY SENTARA

The story of Penny A. Money, the cancer-stricken worker who was fired by Sentara Life Care Corp., then sued the company for discrimination, has come to a bittersweet conclusion.

Last week, Money settled her lawsuit against Sentara. The terms of the settlement are confidential.

Then, this week, Money died in her sister's home in Gaithersburg, Md. Her lung cancer proved fatal. She will be buried today in Bethesda, Md.

Whether she remained bitter to the end, or found peace in the settlement, is unknown.

``I think she just wanted to get everything behind her,'' said Money's sister, JoAnn Farris. ``She was just tired. She didn't really talk about it.''

While details of the settlement are unavailable, Sentara said Thursday that it tried hard to resolve the case while Money was alive.

``It was reported that Ms. Money was quite ill,'' said Sentara's attorney, William E. Rachels Jr. ``Without admitting liability, Sentara vigorously pursued an amicable resolution of the matters while Ms. Money was still alive, so she would be aware that it had been accomplished.''

Money's family would not discuss the case Thursday.

``The matter is settled. Everything is closed. I don't want to comment about it,'' Money's sister said.

Money's attorney, Reid H. Ervin of Norfolk, said, ``The parties have amicably resolved their differences.'' He would not elaborate.

Money started working for Sentara in January as an accounting assistant at a Norfolk nursing home. She did not know she had cancer.

Within days, a routine company physical turned up abnormalities. Doctors suspected it might be cancer but needed more tests. Over the next three weeks, Money missed several days of work as she underwent medical tests. As Money awaited results of the biopsy, Sentara fired her for missing too much work. The next day, doctors confirmed she had cancer. It proved to be inoperable. Money sued Sentara in May for $1 million. She claimed Sentara violated federal and state laws that prohibit firing employees who have disabilities. ``Here are people in the medical field - of all people you'd expect to understand - and it's just like they put me out like they put the trash out,'' Money said in May.

Sentara said it did not know Money had cancer when she was fired.

``The manager decided that it was necessary to ask Ms. Money to resign in view of her failure to perform her job function. . . . Had Ms. Money expressed to us the severity of her situation, we would have gladly done what we could to help her,'' Sentara said in May. ``We wish to see if there are alternative solutions to assist Ms. Money.''

Meanwhile, Money could not get cancer treatment in Norfolk because she suddenly had no health insurance. She was no longer covered by Sentara's health maintenance organization, Optima.

She moved to Maryland to be with her family and to get medical treatment. She began chemotherapy in June or July, Ervin said, but she could not tolerate it.

It is impossible to know how Money would have responded to treatment sooner, when she was diagnosed in February.

``The chances were slim at that point,'' Ervin said. ``It was a question of time. If she had been able to get treatment, she might have been able to live longer, but nobody can know for sure.''