THOUSAND OAKS : Ex-CEO of Hospital Files Bias Lawsuit

The former chief executive officer of Los Robles Regional Medical Center has filed suit against the hospital’s owners, saying his employers discriminated against him because of his age and because he was overweight.

In court papers filed this week, Robert Quist said he was fired from his position last November, although at the time hospital representatives claimed he had resigned. Quist had worked at Los Robles for 23 years.

“He feels he is a little overweight and an immediate supervisor has made comments about it,” said Quist’s attorney Joseph M. Lovretovich. “(The supervisor) said he was not keeping up the corporate image.”

Columbia/HCA Health Care Services, a Tennessee-based company, bought Los Robles last year. Quist names Columbia and Los Robles in the suit, as well as Steve Monaghan, president of Columbia’s Pacific Coast division.

Quist, 50, said he was harmed mentally and physically by being fired. He is seeking restitution for medical care he said he was forced to get as a result of his termination.

He is also seeking damages for lost income and diminished future earning capacity, and also payment of his attorney’s fees.

“He is making significantly less at his new job,” Lovretovich said. Lovretovich said Quist is a senior vice president at a medical device company.