Bucks County Nurse Pleads Guilty To Secretly Filming Female Patients

Authorities say a Pennsylvania nurse has pleaded guilty to secretly filming unclothed female patients as they underwent medical procedures.

Bucks County prosecutors say 45-year-old James Close admitted Friday that he videotaped the women, including a 17-year-old girl, during dermatology treatments at Penn Medicine in Yardley.

A lawyer representing some of the victims says police searched Close’s phone and found 18 videos of seven women.

The attorney says Close was caught when the 17-year-old girl noticed his phone filming her during a procedure. He says the oldest victim was in her 60s.

Penn Medicine officials said in a statement that they are appalled by the ex-employee’s actions and that they fully cooperated with the investigation.

A voicemail message left at a phone number listed for Close’s attorney was not immediately returned.

Nurse caught leaving fentanyl patch stuck to a door at Grundy County Courthouse

A Franklin County, Tenn., licensed practical nurse has been arrested for leaving a medication patch containing the powerful painkiller fentanyl stuck to a door in the Grundy County Courthouse last Friday.

Heather Michelle Hodge, 41, of Estill Springs, Tenn., was caught on courthouse surveillance cameras that were used to identify her, Grundy County Sheriff Clint Shrum said in a statement on the arrest.

In the videos, the person identified as Hodge can bee seen sticking a fentanyl patch first to a courthouse door frame, then removing it and sticking it to another entrance used to bring inmates into the courthouse.

Hodge “confessed to the incident stating she had been instructed to leave it for an inmate,” Shrum said.

Now, Hodge is charged with possession of schedule II drugs, possession of schedule II drugs without a prescription, reckless endangerment and conspiracy to introduce contraband to a penal facility.

Hodge is being held without bond and is scheduled to appear in General Sessions Court on Aug. 8.

Medical City is helping with the nursing shortage by paying for nursing school

NORTH TEXAS – Imagine needing some kind of medical care, but no one’s there to provide it.

Scary thought, right??

That’s the situation not only facing north Texas, but the whole country, when it comes to nurses.

“We`re in a nursing shortage and they predict that in the future we`re going to have more than a million open nursing positions in, I think, 2020,” says Chief Nursing Officer at Medical City Womens and Children’s Angie Buckmeier who knows it well at Medical City.

Part of the problem?? Getting all the proper training is expensive! And paying for it can be tough!

“Having my first degree I went out of state for school, I had a few scholarships but I paid the majority of that in school loans and stuff,” says Registered Nurse at Medical City, Taylor Gillen.

And for people wanting to go back to school for a different profession, like becoming a nurse, money can be a deterrent.

But let’s face it, nurses will always be needed, which is why the Hospital Corporation of America, or Medical City Healthcare as it’s more locally known, is willing to pay for your schooling through the Texas 2-Step Nursing Pathway Program at Medical City.

“It`s just really vital that we get the opportunity of school to all of these people that may not be able to fund it themselves,” naturally, Gillen wanted the opportunity. “When I found out that it was all going to be funded for me, it really helped a lot.”

“HCA pays for their tuition and their books and they just ask them to commit for two years,” says Buckmeier, they`re able to go through the program, get their associates degree, do their clinicals in our setting, within our North Texas division hospitals.”

“Two years of hard work! It was incredible graduating and just a big sigh of relief,” says Gillen, “I get to impact people`s lives every day and I actually like what I`m doing!”

Three hundred nurses have completed the program since it started in ’08, and Gillen has a reminder. “Don`t give up on your dreams be it money or fear that`s keeping you from them, just keep trying!”

Some good advice from a woman who followed through on her dream to help others!

To find out more information like the requirements and qualifiers, contact the Human Resources department at any Medical City Healthcare hospital.

Nurse accused of smuggling, having sex with inmate

Deputies in Polk County say a jail nurse has been fired and arrested for sneaking cigarettes and coffee to an inmate and secretly having sex with him on the job.

According to her arrest affidavit, Andrea Sarvey worked as a nurse for Corizon Health, providing health care for inmates at the South County Jail in Frostproof. Detectives believe it was sometime in March that she began having a relationship with Aubry Pettus, who was behind bars for trafficking meth and violating his probation.

A tip led deputies to check recordings of their jailhouse phone calls, and that’s when they discovered the two allegedly discussed bringing in contraband for Pettus.

Friday, detectives confronted Sarvey when she reported to work. During the interview, they say, she admitted bringing in cigarettes, coffee, and envelopes. She explained that she would place the coffee or cigarettes in a pass-through window from her medical station to the dorm for Pettus to receive.

The nurse said Pettus would tell her, “If you love me, you will bring me this.”

Deputies say a search of her vehicle turned up “numerous” love letters from Pettus, along with a box of stamped envelopes.

Sarvey also told detectives she and Pettus would engage in sexual acts while she was on duty, but out of sight of other staff members.

Sarvey, 32, was fired immediately from her job with Corizon and arrested on several charges, including introducing contraband into detention facility.

Pettus, meanwhile, has been charged with conspiracy to introduce contraband. Deputies say the 29-year-old has an extensive criminal history, including 29 felony and nine misdemeanor charges and has been sentenced to Florida State Prison four times.

Pissed off Hispanic patient throws scalding tea in nurse’s face

A 19-year-old Queens woman is in hot water after she became so angry Friday at a Brooklyn hospital nurse she threw scalding tea in the healthcare worker’s face, police said.

Milldred Alverez, of Ridgewood, was with her mother at Wyckoff Heights Medical Center, where the woman was seeking treatment for an unknown medical condition, according to authorities.

Alverez, unhappy with the care her mother received, threw a cup of hot tea on the face of an unnamed nurse, causing pain a blisters on the nurse’s forehead, cops said.

The incident happened at about 9:30 a.m., according to police. The nurse was treated on-site at Wycoff, and Alverez was charged with felony assault.

10 least stressful jobs in 2017

To get a better idea of which careers are the most stressful, CareerCast examined 200 professions to compile its latest Jobs Rated report.

CareerCast weighed 11 factors to rank the most stressful jobs: travel; deadlines; working in the public eye; competitiveness; physical demands; environmental conditions; hazards encountered; the life of oneself or others at risk; meeting and interacting with customers or the public; and the potential for job growth.

Based on the 11 factors evaluated to determine the CareerCast’s jobs rated stress rankings, these 10 are the least stressful for workers:

10 least stressful jobs in 2017

Ontario registered nurses to be Canada’s first to prescribe medication

The Ontario government will soon expand the professional scope of registered nurses (RNs) and nurse practitioners (NPs) across the province.

Ontario Health Minister Eric Hoskins recently announced the government plans to amend the Nursing Act in Ontario this spring to authorize RNs to prescribe medications independently and communicate diagnoses. Regulatory changes to allow NPs to prescribe controlled substances will follow soon.

Expanding the scope of practice for RNs and NPs is a “longtime priority” for the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario (RNAO) — the professional association representing registered nurses, nurse practitioners and nursing students in the province.

RNAO officials greeted the news with enthusiasm at its 17th annual Queen’s Park Day.

“By taking this tremendous step, we’re making history,” RNAO CEO Doris Grinspun said in a statement. “RNs and NPs have the expertise to increase access to care in all corners of our province, and we are delighted this will soon become a reality.”

Grinspun was among more than 110 RNs, NPs and nursing students visiting Queen’s Park recently as part of the event.

Once enacted, Ontario will become the province or territory in Canada where RNs independently prescribe and communicate diagnoses, RNAO said.

Senate Bill 166 would allow RNs, LPNs to practice in Ga. and 25 other states

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Senate Bill 166, which allows registered nurses and licensed practical nurses to have one multi-state license through an enhanced Nurse Licensure Compact, passed in the senate this week.

Lt. Governor Casey Cagle, along with Senator Renee Unterman, Chair of the Health and Human Services Committee, led the passage.

SB 166 now heads to the House of Representatives for consideration.

“Georgia’s nurses are often the first line of care when we require medical attention,” said Lt. Governor Cagle.

The bill would allow RNs and LPNs to practice in Georgia along with the 25 member states under one multi-state license. This reform enables nurses to practice in person or provide telehealth services to patients across the nation, according to the Office of the Lieutenant Governor.

If signed into law, this bill would also allow nurses to quickly cross state lines and provide vital services in the event of a disaster.

23-Year-Old Nurse Killed In Wedgewood Stabbing

A woman who was fatally stabbed early Tuesday morning at a home in Wedgewood has been identified by police as Tiffany Ferguson, 23, of Nashville.

Ferguson, who was a nurse at Saint Thomas West Hospital, was found unconscious in her apartment in the 700 block of Wedgewood Park just after 5:40 a.m. authorities said.

At 5:41 a.m., police and the Nashville Fire Department responded to a 911 call from the victim’s apartment and found Ferguson inside suffering from multiple stab wounds, Metro police spokesman Don Aaron said.

She was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center where she was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.

Aaron said surveillance video outside Wedgewood Apartments shows a man walking up to vehicles checking doors looking for easy entry. In the video, Aaron said, the same person appears to also be checking apartment doors for easy access.

“That same person is believed to have gone into the victim’s apartment, stolen certain items from inside and stabbed the victim,” he said.

Although the surveillance video is dark, the suspect appears to be wearing a hoodie and jeans with tears between the knee and thigh areas on the back of the pants as well as boots.

Officers throughout the area know of the suspect’s description and are looking for him. Aaron said he was last seen walking away on Ridley Boulevard behind the apartment buildings.

He also said the suspect appears to have arrived in the area on foot and left the immediate area on foot.

Officers continued to investigate the scene of Ferguson’s death into the late afternoon and early evening and two crime scene units remained parked outside. Yellow police tape surrounded the front of the tall brick apartment building where she lived.

Saint Thomas Health and Ascension spokesman Nick Paranjape said Ferguson, who is from Loretto, Tenn. in Lawrence County, was a critical care nurse at the hospital that Ferguson worked. She had worked at the hospital for less than one year, he said.

Her death marks the 13th criminal homicide in Nashville so far this year.