Ex-school nurse gets $50,000 in settlement with SAD 27

[sbic56]

Remember the Fort Kent school nurse? Nice to see the legal system work in our favor!

http://www.bangornews.com/news/templates/?a=118547

BANGOR-A nurse who once worked for a St. John Valley school district and who claimed she was fired illegally will receive $50,000 in a settlement reached earlier this month.

Lola C. Charette of Fort Kent in January sued SAD 27 and Superintendent Sandra B. Bernstein in U.S. District Court in Bangor.

Charette claimed she was fired for refusing to divulge to school officials or parents requests from high school students for confidential reproductive health care treatment. In addition to a jury trial, she had sought lost wages and benefits, compensatory and punitive damages, attorney's fees and to be reinstated as the district's school nurse.

The lawsuit also alleged that the superintendent fired Charette because the superintendent said the former school nurse had violated "community norms" when she helped students obtain pregnancy tests and related reproductive medical treatment without parental consent.

"[Charette] did the right thing," her attorney, David G. Webbert of Augusta, said Thursday. "She did what she had to do. She got fired for doing her job. ... The superintendent didn't like the law and fired the messenger. Lola was the scapegoat."

SAD 27's attorney, Melissa Hewey of Portland, said Thursday that the district's decision to settle had "nothing to do with the merits of the claim and everything to do with the economics of the lawsuit."

"The reason the case settled," Hewey said, "is that the district has no insurance for the claim. The board felt it would cost more to go through a federal case and win. Board members felt the fiscally responsible thing to do was to settle the case at this time."

The Portland attorney also said that the district is disputing its insurance company's denial of the claim, which was based on the date it was filed.

Charette, who worked for 20 years as the school nurse in SAD 27, claimed that she was fired Jan. 31, 2003, when she refused to tell the superintendent, other school officials and parents why she had taken two female students from Fort Kent High School to a medical appointment.

Had the case gone to trial, Nancy Dube, president of the Maine Association of School Nurses, would have testified that state confidentiality laws and state licensing regulations require that nurses not disclose medical information without a patient's permission, Webbert said. The students were Charette's patients.

"This is a pretty large settlement," the Augusta attorney said Thursday. "I think that it sends the message to school nurses that they shouldn't feel like they can't do their jobs."

Although Charette wanted her old job back, that was not possible. Since her firing, the district has outsourced the job, according to Webbert. Discussions about that possibility, a growing trend throughout the state, began in 2002, and were not related directly to the nurse's firing.

Charette currently is working in the St. John Valley as a home health nurse.

The district includes Fort Kent, Eagle Lake, New Canada, St. Francis, St. John, Wallagrass and Winterville.

"This is a pretty large settlement. I think that it sends the message to school nurses that they shouldn't feel like they can't do their jobs."

David G. Webbert of Augusta, attorney for Lola C. Charette

[Spidey's mom, ADN, BSN, RN]

I completely understand the privacy issue - my beef is taking students off campus in the school van without parental knowledge or permission.

steph

[sbic56, BSN, RN]

I completely understand the privacy issue - my beef is taking students off campus in the school van without parental knowledge or permission.

steph

You mean it would have been OK except for the transporting of them? The privacy issue is that by law the girls have the right to confidentility; to notify the parents is to break that confidentiality and privacy rights. I would be upset, if I thought my kid could not come to me with this, but whether she did or not, she has the right to choose the path she wishes when it comes to birth control. I think most parents would like to be a part of this decision by at least being able to be supportive to their child, but there are cases where the girls may be put in a hostile family situation with such news. These are the girls that need their rights protected, thus we have a law to do so.

[smk1, LPN]

I completely understand the privacy issue - my beef is taking students off campus in the school van without parental knowledge or permission.

steph

i do have an issue with this as well, but because it sounded like that wasn't what the parents or school board were in an uproar about, i supported this nurses position. Hopefully some clear cut rules have been defined for this disctrict to prevent another unfortunate incident like this. (of course the girls will simply skip school and go by themselves, with no support, if they really want an abortion and no parent involvement....)

[Spidey's mom, ADN, BSN, RN]

You mean it would have been OK except for the transporting of them? The privacy issue is that by law the girls have the right to confidentility; to notify the parents is to break that confidentiality and privacy rights. I would be upset, if I thought my kid could not come to me with this, but whether she did or not, she has the right to choose the path she wishes when it comes to birth control. I think most parents would like to be a part of this decision by at least being able to be supportive to their child, but there are cases where the girls may be put in a hostile family situation with such news. These are the girls that need their rights protected, thus we have a law to do so.

I agree with the confidentiality part - I don't like it but you can't force a medical person to betray the confidential nature of a discussion.

However, I draw a line with transporting kids off campus without the knowledge of parents. Just the insurance issue should scare the bejesus out of the school district. What if they had an accident in a school vehicle? We have a women suing because a doc called her obese .. .you don't think a parent would sue for this?

steph

[sbic56, BSN, RN]

I agree with the confidentiality part - I don't like it but you can't force a medical person to betray the confidential nature of a discussion.

However, I draw a line with transporting kids off campus without the knowledge of parents. Just the insurance issue should scare the bejesus out of the school district. What if they had an accident in a school vehicle? We have a women suing because a doc called her obese .. .you don't think a parent would sue for this?

steph

I guess I can see the concern, but still, in this area, this is not considered to be as big of a deal. It suprises me that the issue is more about the transporting than what is actually occurring on that trip.Really the danger isn't as great as the kid taking the school bus, hec it's probably safer.

[Jolie, BSN]

I completely understand the privacy issue - my beef is taking students off campus in the school van without parental knowledge or permission.

steph

I agree with this, as well.

Policy in my school district states that children can not ride home with anyone other than their parents unless there is a written note. To have my child taken off school property without my knowledge and consent would prompt me to take legal action.

I agree that nurses must know and abide by state confidentiality laws pertaining to minors, but I can't for the life of me, see how providing transportation to a medical appointment falls under patient confidentiality. Counseling, referrals, hands-on care: yes. A ride to the clinic: no.

I'm glad I don't live in an area of the country where this would be considered "normal".

[bergren]

I had two school nurse jobs where transporting students was allowed and in one of those it was an expectation, part of the job description. In that school it included taking students to clinic and dentist appointments (it was a private school). I also worked in one school where it was prohibited and in another without a policy, and I did not transport. It is specific to the school. Where transportation was expected, I had to provide my license, insurance, registration etc. The school did a driving record check also. In the school where it was allowed, but not required, the district did all the above AND actually inspected vehicles prior to granting permission to transport studnets. I never transported in that district, but I assume that parent permission was required.

[Spidey's mom, ADN, BSN, RN]

I had two school nurse jobs where transporting students was allowed and in one of those it was an expectation, part of the job description. In that school it included taking students to clinic and dentist appointments (it was a private school). I also worked in one school where it was prohibited and in another without a policy, and I did not transport. It is specific to the school. Where transportation was expected, I had to provide my license, insurance, registration etc. The school did a driving record check also. In the school where it was allowed, but not required, the district did all the above AND actually inspected vehicles prior to granting permission to transport studnets. I never transported in that district, but I assume that parent permission was required.

If you enroll your child in a school that offers transportation to dentist appts because you and your spouse work full-time, I see no problem here. The parent knows about and gives approval.

It is the fact that someone can take my daughter off campus 70+ miles away to a town with an abortion clinic and get her an abortion w/o my knowledge or permission that I completely disagree with.

I disagree with the tranporting and the abortion . .

steph

[sbic56, BSN, RN]

If you enroll your child in a school that offers transportation to dentist appts because you and your spouse work full-time, I see no problem here. The parent knows about and gives approval.

It is the fact that someone can take my daughter off campus 70+ miles away to a town with an abortion clinic and get her an abortion w/o my knowledge or permission that I completely disagree with.

I disagree with the tranporting and the abortion . .

steph

That's what I thought you're feelings were and that I can understand. It's more about the reason, not the ride.