Schiavo nurse may lose license

[DoYouEverWonder]

July 13, 2006

The state wants to revoke the license of a nurse who cared for Terri Schiavo because she discussed Schiavo's medical condition on national TV.

Carla Sauer-Iyer said on CNN and other stations last year that Schiavo laughed, told the staff she was in pain, said "Mommy" and "Help me" and ate pudding and milkshakes.

Schiavo, for years the center of national controversy, died March 31, 2005, 13 days after her feeding tube was removed.

Now the Florida Health Department says Sauer-Iyer, 42, a registered nurse who works in Lakeland, improperly disclosed confidential patient information.

Sauer-Iyer, who worked for Palm Garden of Largo as a licensed practical nurse while Schiavo was there, said she was only rehashing on TV what she said in two affidavits, one of which she provided at the request of Gov. Jeb Bush's legal team.

"This was my First Amendment right," she said.

http://www.sptimes.com/2006/07/13/Tampabay/Schiavo_nurse_may_los.shtml

This gal can have all the free speech she wants, that still doesn't give her the right to a nursing license, when she lies and acts irresponsibly when she presents herself has a medical professional.

[LeftCoast]

1. That was a HUGE HIPAA (med privacy law) violation

I'm not sure she should loser her license over it, but it's a big deal. That was not ok to do.

[tavalon]

24. You beat me to it

HIPPA, HIPPA, HIPPA. And, she should know better. When I discuss any patient care with anyone, I am intentionally vague unless it is someone with a documented need to know. It's not like they don't shove this down our throats all the time.

[Richard Steele]

25. And more than just a PRIVACY violation.

This person has been telling some pretty big LIES
about this case for years now; some of them have just
been pretty blatant nonsense.

I could never tell if she was simply a Schiavo-supporter
with ZERO morals or scruples,
or a pathological liar who just saw a chance
for her own 15 minutes of fame.

The lies or the "cause" = chicken/egg scenario.

[Orion The Hunter]

38. Take her license

Couldn't happen to a more deserving person!

[LincolnMcGrath]

2. That is right!

free speech and a nursing license are two separate animals.

I wouldn't want that lying, biased, fundy, attantion whore, caring for my family.

[IndianaGreen]

3. There is no way that Terri Schiavo could have said "Mommy" and "Help me"

Her autopsy clearly showed that she was incapable of doing those things. This nurse lied!

[wicket]

36. Yup, and she deserves what she gets

:grr:

[flamingyouth]

4. It was NOT her First Amendment right

It was a huge privacy violation.

[rodeodance]

8. only in this nurses reality.

[rodeodance]

9. yes, this issue has NOTHING to do with 'free speech"!

[KyndCulture]

5. HIPAA violation... bubye license....

there's no story here.

[Kagemusha]

6. The way this article is written, um...

It's written suggesting that revealing that Schiavo could talk and was lucid and conscious was revealing confidential patient information. That is, what she was revealing was the truth, truth that she was forbidden from speaking.

I do not (censored) think so.

[Ringo84]

7. Re:

Well, I don't know about losing her license, but as for

Schiavo laughed, told the staff she was in pain, said "Mommy" and "Help me" and ate pudding and milkshakes.

I call bullshit.
Ringo

[KyndCulture]

10. Yes however if she even said those things (and she didn't)

that's still a vilolation of patient privvys and against the law.

[Lost-in-FL]

53. That comment is considered by HIPAA

a blatant violation of patient privacy. Her husband is the only one BY LAW to give that information to the press. Not her parents, the nurse, or even Cat Killer.

I work at a health care facility and I have to tell patients that I am forbidden to fax results to their home. It might sound stupid to some but that is how series this is. I'M SERIES!!!111!!!


Getting her license revoked?? That's HUGE !!11!!

And indeed, that's bullshit. I saw her CT Scan pictures, the ones shown of her in the press and all I could see is fluid, very minimal brain matter. The was long gone.

[BlueIris]

11. Ew. How hard is it for people to obey HIPPA?

Or any semblance of medical ethics? Or common decency? How. Hard. ?

Some people really are so dang stupid.

[Exiled in America]

12. You DO have a 1st amendment right to your speech!

You DONT have a 1st amendment right to a license! :)

[Lost-in-FL]

55. Nurses take an oath and that includes

protecting the patients privacy. It is very clear.


This is the Nurses Oath

I solemnly pledge myself before God and in the presence of this assembly, to pass my life in purity and to practice my profession faithfully. I will abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous, and will not take or knowingly administer any harmful drug. I will do all in my power to maintain and elevate the standard of my profession, and will hold in confidence all personal matters committed to my keeping and all family affairs coming to my knowledge in the practice of my calling. With loyalty will I endeavor to aid the physician in his work, and devote myself to the welfare of those committed to my care.

[LostinVA]

62. Yup -- the Nightingale Oath... my mom and sister both took it

PLus, there are privacy laws, PLUS, First Amendment rights do NOT cover you re: work.

[Exiled in America]

65. Yeah, that's what I said.

You are free to speak your mind. You're not free to keep a liscence after speaking your mind. :)

[LostinVA]

67. My mom was appalled by the whole thing n/t

[stepnw1f]

61. Nope

sorry

[Mz Pip]

13. Next thing you know

Ms. Nurse will be telling everyone who wants to listen that Terry wanted to join that orgasm cult that we've been discussing. :sarcasm:

Mz Pip
:dem:

[PurpleChez]

56. I must learn more about this Orgasm Cult

that the kids are talking about!

What's up with that?

[hyphenate]

14. I wonder how much money

the far right paid her to say those things. Any nurse in their right mind would know better. I say she should lose her license.

[benddem]

17. me too

the nursing profession doesn't need sociopaths like her. She flat lied!!

[robinlynne]

15. If I am in the hospital, unconscious, I would hope that the nurses around

me had some basic ethics. And that they were not working with the "Jeb Bush legal team".

[still_one]

16. you have patient confidentiality responsibilities

it has NOTHING TO DO WITH FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS

[Maraya1969]

18. First Amendment my ass! I can't believe she said that!

[Sgent]

19. This has nothing to do with HIPAA

HIPAA could cause her to be fined (maybe), and jailed, but it can't really touch her nursing license.

This is from the Flordia Board of Nursing. And as mentioned upthread, it has nothing to do with the "1st ammendment". When she took her job, and accepted her license, she agreed to abide by medical ethics -- which she violated.

One other thing, her affadavit for Jeb was probably illegal as well. Unless given permission by Micheal, or a Judge, that information is privlidged.

[silverweb]

20. Good.

She fully deserves to lose her license.

[MADem]

21. Now that's GOOD NEWS

She may have a First Amendment right to LIE her fucking ass off on TV, at a thousand dollars per appearance, but she doesn't have the right to be licensed to care for people when telling the TRUTH, about their condition, care, and prognosis, is a vital aspect of your position.

Evil, dreadful cretin.

[MGD]

27. She doesn't necessarily deserve to lose her license over a HIPPA

violation unless there is already a precedent for that in the state of Florida which I highly doubt. I'm not defending her mind you, I'm defending other nurses who have a tough enough job and don't need a precedent like that hanging over their heads. She should certainly have to stand before the Florida Board of Nurses Examiners however and face whatever punishment that they deem fair and appropriate.

[LynneSin]

33. If anything - she wants to lose her license: Will help with her book deal

Even SHE knows this isn't a First Amendment violation but she probably does know that if she loses her license then there is a stronger chance for a juicy book deal that will no doubt be on the NYTimes bestseller giving her even more fame (trust me, regular folks don't have to buy it, the publisher will see to it that it makes the list).

This is all good for her - 9 months we'll see the book

[bunkerbuster1]

28. Good news for us, you mean!

Every time this abomination, this jump-the-shark moment is relived in the public's mind, is another step closer to victory for Democrats in November.

[Lasher]

46. My exact thought, bunkerbuster1.

Bring on the book! I can't wait for the movie! Swamp the airwaves with replays!

Remember when Catkiller announced his video prognosis on the Senate floor on February 17, 2005?

Frist: "She certainly seems to respond to visual stimuli."

And what he said on the Senate floor on March 17, 2005?

Frist: "I have looked at the video footage. Based on the footage provided to me, which was part of the facts of the case, she does respond."

But the autopsy report confirmed that the vision centers of her brain were dead.

And remember when he later lied about it on the June 16, 2005 Today Show?

LAUER: But when you stood on the floor and you said, "She does respond," are you at all worried that you led some senators...

FRIST: I never said, "She responded." I said I reviewed the court videotapes - the same ones the other doctors reviewed - and I questioned, Is her diagnosis correct?

Oops, another lie! Catkiller did not review the court videotapes. He was sent a version that had been carefully edited to include only segments that could encourage the conclusion that Frist reached.

http://www.justabovesunset.com/id870.html

[rocktivity]

22. Terri had soup for brains, Nurse Soup-For-Brains!

(Left to right: Normal brain, Terri's brain.) How could she have said anything--never mind felt anything--if FLUID has been where her brain was for more than FIVE years???

:headbang:
rocknation

[Baconfoot]

23. It it disclosing information if the information is false?

That seems more like concealing information to me.
*shrug*

[mainer]

26. Lying in a sworn affidavit is the real issue, I would think

Isn't that a crime?

[hughee99]

35. I think so...

If she was required to give an affidavit that is a matter of public record, and then recounts the contents of that statement, I don't believe that it's a medical privacy violation. It's the filing of a false affidavit that's the issue.

[Olney Blue]

29. Maybe she can get a job working for Katherine Harris's compaign.

[Toots]

30. What does Rush Limbaugh have to say about medical records privacy

:shrug: anyone else hear those crickets chirping?

[TheCowsCameHome]

45. He's off this week, probably back in the DR getting some kiddie action.

[Ian David]

31. Nurse says, "We frequently had to chastise Terri for internet gambling...

... burning American flags, feeding the alligators, and trying to get gay married. Sometimes, Terri would refuse to sing The Star Spangled Banner in English, and we'd punish her by taking away her Playstation."

"Once, we found that Terri had hired an illegal immigrant to give her a pedicure. I was so mad, I refused to go rollerblading with her for a week."

[Rose Siding]

34. BWAHAHA!!!!

:thumbsup:

[TheCowsCameHome]

47. Going over to Bike Week wasn't so smart, either.

Those tattoos must have cost a fortune.

[Roland99]

48. And being the first guest on the Rock n Roll Roller Coaster at MGM

didn't help.

[TheCowsCameHome]

49. Yeah. Using celebrity status to jump the line wasn't a good PR move.

Her agent, Sean Hannity, blew that one.

[DrDan]

51. is this the nurse InSanity kept interviewing?

[LynneSin]

32. First Amendment does NOT protect poor medical judgement

especially when it affects the life of someone.

[Totally Committed]

42. Plus there are stringent laws (HIPAA) overriding the First Amendment

where medical information is concerned. These laws are to protect the privacy of medical history as well as patients.

TC

[NashVegas]

37. Will She Take the Fall for Jeb & Billy Frist?

Sounds like she's being set up for it.

[Bretttido]

40. Exactly what I thought. n/t

[seafan]

39. Orlando Sentinel: Jeb Bush sides with Schiavo nurse

Governor sides with Schiavo nurse

snip

Gov. Jeb Bush on Thursday sided with nurse Carla Sauer-Iyer, who could lose her license because she discussed Terri Schiavo's medical condition on national TV.

"The governor feels the actions taken against Sauer-Iyer are not justified and hopes that the complaint will be reconsidered and dismissed," Bush spokesman Russell Schweiss wrote in an e-mail to the St. Petersburg Times. "She did not disclose any information which was not already public."

On Thursday, the Department of Health asked the Board of Nursing to dismiss the agency's complaint that Sauer-Iyer, 42, improperly disclosed patient information on CNN last year.

Sauer-Iyer rejected a proposed settlement that would have forced her to give up her nursing license, pay up to $1,683 in administrative costs and not apply for a license in the future.

snip

Michael Schiavo, her widower, said Thursday that Bush is trying to protect someone he used.

"This is America. The governor is entitled to be wrong again," he said.

"What Carla did is wrong, and what the governor is doing to protect her is wrong. Why does he want to help people who lie?"

snip

The case against Sauer-Iyer began March 28, 2005, when the Health Department received a complaint from a Massachusetts registered nurse who said Sauer-Iyer made "unsubstantiated comments" on CNN "that with 'just a little bit of therapy,' Mrs. Schiavo could be rehabilitated."

Schiavo had been diagnosed as being in a persistent vegetative state since her collapse in 1990.

Indeed, Michael. Indeed.

[Totally Committed]

43. I wonder how he'd feel if his daughter's nurse from one of the many times

she's been hospitalized and rehabbed for drugs came forward and talked about her condition, and the private workings of the Bush family as they decided on her care????

What a jerk!

TC

[greenbriar]

41. hannity will hire her for whatever he needs her to lie about

you know

[TheCowsCameHome]

44. I wondered if Schiavo was carrying Hannity's baby.

Since he is such a bottom-feeding dirtbag.

[yellowcanine]

50. If she is disciplined then Fristy should also be disciplined by a medical

board for making a medical diagnosis based on a videotape outside his area of expertise..

[mtnester]

52. It is the EXACT same violation

no different for Frist either. If he was privy to medical information on her, and discussed it WITHOUT the consent of the patient or that patient's medical power of attorney designee, he is in clear violation.

As a HIPAA privacy officer, I know these things.

[rexcat]

54. In this case HIPPA is a side issue...

The HIPPA laws are important here but the main issue is the privacy of the patient. Terri Shiavo’s privacy was violated by this nurse. Privacy rules pre-date HIPPA both at all medical facilities and with the FL Nursing Board (or what ever they are called).

If you have ever been in a medical facility please noticed the posters on the wall reminding employees not to discuss specific patient cases in public areas. It might be HIPPA driven at some facilities but these types of posters and placards have been around for a long time (i.e., prior to HIPPA which came into effect 04/2004, if I am not mistaken). If you work at a medical facility there are very strict rules about patient confidentiality/privacy and she violated Terri Schiavo’s basic right of confidentiality and privacy. She is also licensed by the State of FL and the FL Nursing Board has the obligation to review the matter and if she violated patient confidentiality rules of the facility and violate FL Nursing Board rules governing privacy and confidentiality her license should be revoked, period, no questions asked! She could also be sued by Michael Shiavo as well but I don’t think he wants to go there for obvious reasons.

[Lost-in-FL]

57. HIPAA is very recent indeed

and it was practically created to protect patient information that is now saved electronically (e-mail, electronic medical records, x-rays that are now in digital format, etc.)

HIPAA or not, she gave away patient information.

Things won't go that bad for her. She can still work in health care but would never be able to be in contact with patients or patient information. I feel sorry for her family since they might go through financial burden due to her stupidity. Betcha she's one of those spreading gossip around at her job. And I really hate people like that.

[FlaGranny]

58. I'm curious

about what you said about the nurse being able to work in health care but not be able to be in contact with patients or their medical information. I'm sitting here trying to think what ever could she do that wouldn't involve one of those? :-)

I work in the medical information part of medicine and even disclosing the NAME of a patient is grounds for immediate termination, but I don't need a license so have none to be revoked.

[Lost-in-FL]

59. Med Rep

She can go around clinics or pharmacies selling and giving samples of medications to doctors. That's about it. She can probably do education (give continuing medication courses under the supervision of a doctor or nurse) depending on how far she went through school. She cannot work on a clinic or hospital setting. Of course, she won't have a license.

[rexcat]

63. The chances of her working in the health care setting...

after she loses her nursing license (if that happens to her) are slim to none. If the Nursing Board in FL cares about patient privacy I think she is history as far as nursing goes.

I worked in health care for 14 years, 5 as a supervisor. No one who really cares about quality patient care would hire her or at least I hope not. I am not sorry for anything negative that happens to her. If her family suffers that is her doing. She should have taken the ethical, moral road on this issue and she did not and she should pay the consequences. What she did was unconscionable.

[FlaGranny]

68. I forget about being a sales rep.

She probably would have a hard time getting hired if a prospective employer checks her record.

[Betsy Ross]

60. So here's the score:

You can reveal medical information you are just repeating what was in an affidavit. So if a doctor wants to spill a story, he just needs the governor or some other politicrat to request a statement. Then its ok to go public. What a handy loophole. :sarcasm: The nurse's speaking was unconscionable. The fact that she was lying just adds another layer.

[kevinbgoode]

64. Good - I think she lied anyway, and did it for the media attention

being a wingnut isn't a special right. . .

[The Bastard1]

66. I love how these people

cry bloody foul everytime you invoke the first amendment for flag burning but then use it as a defense when they know they did something wrong.

It's almost like the selective Bible reading thing.