An EMT who worked for UnityPoint Health is suing the company, alleging she was the victim of workplace sexual harassment and sexual assault.

Kayla Whitten is suing Iowa Health System’s UnityPoint Health-Marshalltown Hospital and EMS supervisor Nick Heintz in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa for alleged civil rights violations.

According to the lawsuit, Whitten was hired by UnityPoint Health in March 2024 as a full-time emergency medical technician for UnityPoint Health-Marshalltown Hospital.

As an EMT, Whitten allegedly assessed, treated and transported patients while working under Heintz, who directly oversaw all EMTs and paramedics at the hospital.

The lawsuit alleges that shortly after she began working at UnityPoint, Whitten’s shift leader, Tanner Jones, began sending her sexually explicit and unwanted messages.

“Jones repeatedly asked Kayla if she was naked and requested nude photos from her,” the lawsuit asserts. “Jones’ messages were persistent, one-sided, and unwelcome.”

Between March and September 2024, Jones’ alleged harassment intensified, the lawsuit says. In September 2024, while Whitten was working a shift, Jones entered her sleeping quarters without permission, sat on her bed and asked if she was naked under the blanket.

The lawsuit claims Whitten replied, “No,” and reminded Jones he had a girlfriend. At that point, the lawsuit alleges, Jones tried to pull the blanket off her, climbed on top of her and attempted to remove her shirt as she repeatedly told him to stop.

“Jones physically forced himself on her,” the lawsuit asserts, and immediately thereafter Whitten reported the incident to Heintz and informed him of Jones’ alleged harassment and inappropriate messages. Heintz allegedly dismissed Whitten’s concerns and said, “I can’t talk to you about those messages; I’ve already talked to Tanner.”

The alleged harassment and assault triggered Whitten’s pre-existing anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder and exacerbated her symptoms, the lawsuit claims.

According to the lawsuit, on Oct. 23, 2024, Whitten reported her concerns to UnityPoint Vice President Natalie Hunter and also reported that Heintz was engaged in what she considered to be an inappropriate relationship with a paramedic and had been sending inappropriate Snapchat messages to the staff.

Within days, UnityPoint allegedly called Whitten into a Human Resources meeting to discipline her for an incident that involved a patient who was in respiratory distress and required care outside of Whitten’s scope of practice and necessitated the assistance of a paramedic. When the paramedic failed to act, Whitten stepped in to assist the patient, leading to disciplinary action, the lawsuit claims.

In February 2025, Whitten “broke down emotionally and reached out to Emergency Department Director Heidi Rockwell,” the lawsuit alleges. Rockwell warned Whitten, “You need to get out or Heintz will have you fired. It is what he does when he does not like you. I have seen it before,” the lawsuit claims.

Eventually, UnityPoint investigated Whitten’s complaints, and she allegedly provided copies of messages from Jones on the night of the alleged assault. The investigation allegedly substantiated Whitten’s sexual harassment complaint but deemed the allegation of sexual assault to be “unsubstantiated” due to the lack of eyewitnesses.

Not long after, the lawsuit alleges, Whitten was disciplined for allowing the family of a former patient to tour the emergency-services offices and living quarters. “UnityPoint later removed that discipline only after being notified that the marketing team had already publicly featured Kayla in UnityPoint’s newsletter and on its social media accounts for her connection with the former patient,” the lawsuit asserts.

In April 2025, Whitten allegedly texted her supervisor to discuss her taking advantage of the Family Medical Leave Act and was fired that same day for allegedly misreporting her time at work and failing to complete her training.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for alleged violations of the Iowa Civil Rights Act related to sexual harassment, disability discrimination and retaliation.

UnityPoint Health has yet to file a response to the lawsuit, which was originally filed in state court in January 2026. A UnityPoint spokesperson declined to comment on the case Tuesday.