Archives: News

A major search was underway in Hawaii after a nurse from the Chicago area went missing nearly a week ago.

Local reports indicate the woman may have been swept away down a river during flash flooding.

According to Big Island fire officials, Kelly Mrowinski, a traveling nurse from Chicago, went missing Friday while hiking with a man. The pair were reportedly swept downstream by quickly rising waters in the Wailuku River.

The man was able to make it to a riverbank but the woman hasn’t been seen since, officials said.

While it has been six days since she was last seen, local authorities said Mrowinski’s family is holding out hope she will be found.

“The mother flew in Sunday morning, she’s been here since,” Chief Brent Matsuda with the Hawaii County Fire Department told local agency Big Island Now. “Numerous good friends coming, Kelly’s boyfriend is here also – they are all here to suport the mom at this time of need.”

The Hawaii Fire Department sent divers into the water near Piihonua Falls Saturday, but heavy rains made for dangerous conditions.

It was unclear if responders were conducting a rescue or recovery mission as of Thursday.

An Aurora woman was sentenced to four years of probation for stealing the identity of a registered nurse and using it to illegally treat patients.

Authorities said the suspect used the nursing license number of a real registered nurse in the Denver Metro area who shares the exact same first and last name and worked at a rehab and nursing center in Commerce City.

Commerce City police arrested Jennifer Renee Jackson, 31, while she was on the job at the Woodridge Terrace Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Feb. 2017 after learning that she had no license to practice.

The care center is located on East 66th Way near Highway 2 in Commerce City.

On Dec. 11, Jackson pleaded guilty in Adams County Court to felony ID theft.

The imposter’s three felony charges included identity theft, criminal impersonation, and forgery.

Under a plea agreement, a judge sentenced Jackson to four years of probation, ordered that she undergo mental health treatment, and also spend the first six months of her probation under house arrest at her Aurora home, according to Sue Lindsay, spokesperson for the 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.

CBS4’s Melissa Garcia called the Woodridge Terrace Nursing and Rehabilitation Center Tuesday afternoon requesting comment.

The center’s regional director returned her call late in the afternoon and referred her to the company’s chief financial officer, who also acts as a spokesperson.

She called the number provided and left a voice message. The spokesperson had not returned the call as of 5:15 p.m.

The facility’s website boasts 24/7 “licensed nurses” who handle everything from IV therapy to dialysis to post-operative care, and even hospice treatment.

Months after the arrest in Commerce City, officers again arrested the fake nurse on similar charges in June in El Paso County.

CBS4 has yet to learn at what El Paso County facility or facilities Jackson may have been working.

According to an official with the state nursing board operating under the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies, Jennifer Renee Jackson was never a licensed nurse. The board issued her an injunction as well as a cease and desist order.

NASHVILLE – A Tennessee mom who had her baby in a parking lot last week lucked out when a nurse happened to be close by to deliver the child and save his life.

With the help of a stranger, baby Elijah made it into this world safely, but not without difficulty.

The woman was in labor, with a crying toddler next to her, in the back seat of her car outside a Vanderbilt University Medical Center parking garage. That’s when registered nurse Steven Welton noticed the woman in distress.

“It’s kind of fuzzy at this point because adrenaline was pumping, but it looked to be about halfway out so I grabbed him, pulled him the rest of the way,” Welton said. “I could see the umbilical cord and everything. No gloves.”

However, Welton a former trauma nurse, said he noticed something was wrong.

“He was blue and not doing anything – wasn’t moving, wasn’t crying,” Welton said. “I just said, ‘I’ve got to start compressions’ and held him in my hand and started doing it, and about two minutes of solid compressions.”

That’s when baby Elijah finally took a breath. Welton’s mother, Vanderbilt Director of Clinical Nutrition Chris Biesemeier, witnessed the entire thing.

“We were both most concerned about the baby and that the baby be OK,” Biesemeier said.

After getting baby Elijah and mom inside the hospital safely, Welton remembers looking over at baby Elijah’s dad, who returned shortly after all the baby was delivered.

“I’m just thinking, ‘Oh my goodness’ and he kind of had a smile on his face, I think because he was happy that things were getting better,” Welton said. “But in my mind, I was like, ‘Man you have no idea what just happened.'”

Mom and baby are both at home and healthy.

A Texas mother is in jail after hospital staff sounded alarm over a boy who had been seen 323 times at various medical centers and undergone 13 major surgeries in his eight years of life. Kaylene Bowen, who has allegedly previously claimed her son was dying of a genetic disease, fighting cancer and suffering from several other ailments over his lifetime, was arrested on a warrant accusing her of injury to a child with serious bodily injury, The Star-Telegram reported.

Bowen, 34, remains in Dallas County Jail while the boy, whose name is Christopher, and his two half-siblings have been placed in foster care. The boy’s father, Ryan Crawford, said he’s tried alerting authorities to Bowen’s actions previously, but was shut down by courts who sided with her.

“It was always the same story: Christopher is dying,” Crawford told The Star-Telegram. “The father doesn’t need to be around because he doesn’t know how to take care of him. Every time I went to court, they made me feel like I was the worst human ever.”

According to a Child Protective Services petition, Christopher was seen 323 times at hospitals and pediatric centers in Dallas and Houston between 2009 and 2016, The Star-Telegram reported. At various points, he was placed on oxygen fulltime, used a wheelchair, and was outfitted with a feeding tube that lead to life-threatening blood infections. Court documents revealed that Bowen placed Christopher in hospice care, and tried to have him placed on a lung transplant list.

“It’s horrible for my son, or any kid because obviously my son is not the only one that has had to go through this type of torture,” Crawford told The Star-Telegram. “The system has to be exposed – all the weaknesses that are in the system – because the kids don’t deserve that.”

Hospital staff sounded alarm with CPS after discovering that Christopher did not have cancer, or any of the alleged symptoms Bowen had listed. She had claimed that Christopher suffered a seven-minute seizure, but an ECG showed no such activity, The Star-Telegram reported. Staff reached out to another hospital that had treated Christopher and found there were similar suspicions about Bowen. A complaint was filed, marking the second such since 2015.

“I am very concerned that mother has moved from exaggerating symptoms to inducing symptoms,” Dr. Suzanne Dakil wrote, as part of a CPS petition for removal, according to the news outlet. “If mother has given Chris something to induce a seizure, this is potentially fatal. At this point I am very concerned for his welfare.”

While not formally diagnosed, Bowen’s actions are similar to those of others who suffer from Munchausen syndrome by proxy. The condition occurs when a person attempts to produce psychological or physical symptoms in another person, usually someone who is dependent on them. Several factors, including who is describing the patient’s symptoms, can make it difficult for doctors to spot the disorder.

Over the years, Bowen was soliciting money from supporters through a YouCaring page and other fundraising efforts. One page claimed the boy had been diagnosed with Arteriovenous malformation at age 2, and had raised more than $8,000.

Crawford is currently seeking to obtain custody of Christopher, who has since been taken off the feeding tube and is eating regularly.

PUYALLUP, Wash. — Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup this week fired 12 of its intensive-care unit nurses. Administrators maintain they have the missing positions covered.

In the midst of a statewide nursing shortage Good Samaritan is now 12 nurses short in the ICU. KOMO News has been told it has to do with a human resources violation, perhaps having to do with time cards. The hospital said it has nothing to do with drug or patient safety issues, but wouldn’t provide details, say it wanted to protect the privacy of those fired.

MultiCare, which oversees Good Samaritan, says it has care covered, but some patients aren’t so sure. “We had a lot of concerns about the care our daughter was going to get,” said new father Kyle Ewing. “And the care my fiance was going to get.”

Ewing’s daughter, Aryia, was just born there Thursday. Mother and daughter are not in ICU, but Ewing worries about shifting nurses around when you lose 12 all at once. “That’s a big hit, and a lot of people are going to be working overtime, which is concerning too because you don’t want the people who are taking care of you or your loved ones not having any sleep.”

But Multicare sent out this statement, “As a multi-hospital health system, we have a lot of experience managing the complexities of scheduling to ensure we have the right people in our facilities 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

“That’s horrible,” said one visitor to the ER who didn’t want to give her name. She is concerned you just can’t make up for 12 fewer nurses. “I’m worried about going into the emergency room, and if they’ve fired that many people in ICU, they’re going to take nurses from somewhere else.”

The Washington State Nurses Association union issued a statement saying, “We are aware of the situation and are working with individual members. It is under review. We definitely will do everything we can to protect our members with contract provisions.”

A Suffolk Superior Court judge has ruled that unionized nurses at Brigham and Women’s Hospital must follow the hospital’s flu vaccination policy.

The Massachusetts Nurses Association sued the Brigham in September over the policy, which requires all workers be vaccinated annually, with exceptions for medical or religious reasons. The union argued that the policy represented corporate overreach and would unfairly punish nurses — even result in their firing — if they chose not to get vaccinated.

Brigham employees who skip the flu shot must wear face masks when they’re around patients.

Union officials said Thursday that they still object to the policy, but they’re encouraging their 3,400 members at the Brigham to follow the hospital’s rules anyway.

“We think it’s a bad decision, but we’ve had to encourage nurses to comply with the policy,” said David Schildmeier, a union spokesman. “Our position remains the same. To maintain this as a fireable offense… is really outlandish.”

Judge Robert N. Tochka denied the union’s request for an injunction to immediately block the hospital’s policy, but the union’s lawsuit is continuing.

“MNA’s speculative claim of potential harm to an unspecified number of unidentified nurses is not adequate to outweigh the risk of harm to the hospital, its employees, and its patients if there is an outbreak of the flu,” Tochka wrote in his decision, which was issued Wednesday.

Brigham spokeswoman Erin McDonough said hospital officials are “gratified that the court has affirmed our right to implement this policy.”

“Our mandatory influenza vaccination policy was implemented to ensure we provide the highest quality, safest environment for our patients, visitors and our employees,” she said in an e-mail.

The policy requires employees to get vaccinated by Friday.

Hospital officials couldn’t say how many workers had received their shots this year because they were still counting. Last year, 91 percent of all staff were vaccinated, including 94 percent of nurses, they said.

DULUTH, MN (KBJR/CNN) – For dozens of employees at Essentia Health, Monday meant coming to work not knowing whether they would make it to Tuesday. All because of the flu shot.

“Purely voluntary or more education doesn’t get you those high levels of immunization compliance,” said Dr. Rajesh Prabhu, the company’s chief of patient quality and safety. Prabhu said it was essential that he take a mandatory approach.

Since September, Essentia has told employees, volunteers, students and vendors that they have three options: get the flu shot, get an approved religious or medical exemption, or leave Essentia.

So far, he said 99.5 percent of employees have chosen the first two options. But 50 or so have been terminated, with more left waiting to hear back on their exemptions.

Minnesota Nurses Association Duluth Chair Steve Strand said with so many employees in that limbo, his union doesn’t know how many members have lost their jobs just yet.

“We believe that they will be denying some of those, and then those individuals may end up terminated, also,” Strand said.

He said the union does intend to fight any terminations for a policy it says is unnecessary, intrusive and may not even be effective.

“The flu shot isn’t a be-all, end-all,” he said. “It only has certain efficacy.”

Essentia stands by its policy, saying that’s what it takes to keep patients and fellow workers safe from potential infections this flu season.

“People may debate on how effective that is, but based on what the level of evidence is and what our peers are doing, we thought this was the best way to protect our patients.” Prabhu said.

Two unions have filed unfair labor practices against Essentia Health. They say the company did not negotiate with union members before establishing the policy.

PUYALLUP, Wash. (KOMO) – They’re used in hospitals all over the country, but a national saline bag shortage is hitting home.

The FDA said saline bags had been in short supply since 2014, but supplies plummeted even further after this year’s devastating hurricane season.

Doctors and nurses at the Partner Oncology Clinic said supplies are now dangerously low and they could run out of saline bags in two days.

They’ve been calling and emailing companies all over the world trying to get more saline with no luck.
People who need it most are worried.

It’s tough enough 68-year-old Gail Miller is fighting her second round of metastatic breast cancer. Now, she’s facing another battle in her treatment: she can’t get her hydration fluids.

Doctors said the national saline bag shortage became worse after Hurricane Maria slammed the production factory in Puerto Rico.

“It’s scary and frustrating,” said Miller. “I’m trying to take one step forward, and not two steps back.”

Nurses at her oncology clinic, Partner Oncology, said for the past two weeks they haven’t been able to do hydration treatments and they’ve had to send patients to bigger hospitals.

Now, they’re saving the few bags they have left to dilute powerful chemo drugs for patients.

“People are going to die if we don’t get saline,” said Emily Lanum with Partner Oncology. “At this point, we have just enough for chemo and it’s not going to last us very long and we’re trying to decide who (we) can treat and who we can’t and that’s not a choice that has to be made.”

Nurses said they found a company in Canada selling the saline at nearly five times the price.

“It’s just not been good,” said Miller. “I feel bad for myself, I feel bad for everyone. Because there are people who are much sicker than I am and they really rely on that.”

The FDA said it’s responding to the shortage by temporarily allowing saline imports from Australia and Ireland.

DEWITT, Ark. — Officials say a medical helicopter has crashed in rural Arkansas, killing all three people on board.

The Arkansas Department of Emergency Management confirms the helicopter went down Sunday night near the Arkansas County town of DeWitt, about 60 miles southeast of Little Rock.

CBS News affiliate KSLA-TV reports John Auld III, of Shreveport, Louisiana, died on board the helicopter.

The identities of the other victims are being withheld pending family notification.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Lynn Lunsford says the aircraft was flying from Pine Bluff to DeWitt at the time of the wreck.

FAA investigators are heading to the crash site, and the National Transportation Safety Board says it’s investigating.

The Bell 407 helicopter belonged to Pafford EMS, which provides emergency transport in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Oklahoma. The company said on its Facebook page that it’s “devastated by the sudden loss of three of our team members.”

The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

Although thousands of people learn CPR, women are less likely than men to get CPR from a bystander. And they are more likely to die.

A new study found only 39 percent of women suffering cardiac arrest in a public place were given CPR versus 45 percent of men. And men were 23 percent more likely to survive.

“It’s not hugely surprising but rather anyone that has a different body type than this adult male half mannequin of a person we’re going to have some hesitation when we figure out how to handle that situation,” says Stephen Wolfstich, CEO of Remote Emergency Services + Training.

Wolfstich says because of that, people often have questions before starting CPR on women. “Do I remove their shirt?” Wolfstich says. “Do I remove their bra? What’s my hand placement? Is it appropriate for me to be putting my hands on a female chest? Are there bystanders around and how are they going to react and where does my liability stand.”

He tells students they are protected by the Good Samaritan Law. And CPR only requires touching the center of the chest.

“You’re not actually pressing down on the breast,” Wolfstich says. “It is not going to injure anything, you’re putting all of your weight directly onto that breastbone.”

He and other experts say instruction must be more inclusive, and there is no time to waste.

“Us simply hesitating on do I want to put my hands on their chest that could be five or 10 seconds, “Woldstich says. “15, 20 seconds that goes by where we decide for ourselves is this okay with me. “Well if too much time goes by it’s not okay with either one of them.”

The study is in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. It involved nearly 20,000 cases across the U.S. It’s the first to look at the response when it comes to helping men compared to women by the general public.