Dispatcher Quits, $500,000 Medical Bill

St. Joseph County (Mich.) dispatcher Tracy Monroe plans to quit her job after the county declined to extend her medical leave so she could take her 2 year-old daughter to New York City for cancer treatments. The county had offered her a part-time position, but Monroe turned the offer down. Resigning would leave her with medical insurance only under the less-comprehensive plan offered by her husband’s employer. Up to now, Monroe says, insurance has paid the bulk of the $500,000 medical expenses for her daughter’s treatments. Monroe had taken the full 12 weeks of leave allowed under federal law, and another 220 hours the county allowed her. She had hoped to extend it until she was eligible for another 12 weeks of federal leave. Working part-time would have left her with no benefits. The county turned down a plan by co-workers to donate 218 hours of their sick leave to Monroe.