Another Nurse Accused of Homicide for a Mistake!

[Wishiwasretired]

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LEWIS CENTER, Ohio — A Columbus nurse charged with reckless homicide in connection to a patient's death in Delaware County was let go on her own recognizance on Friday.

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The lawsuit, which was filed in December 2021, says an investigation revealed the last person to enter Mowery's room was a licensed practical nurse, later identified as Aminata Fofana.

Fofana allegedly went into Mowery's room, disconnected and removed his mask because it was soiled. However, she left the room and did not re-apply a new tracheostomy mask, according to the lawsuit.

A grand jury indicted Fafano on...

Read in entirety: Former nurse indicted on charges in connection to man's death at Lewis Center nursing home

[Kitiger, RN]

She should lose her license, but not be charged with reckless homicide.

We work in a high stress profession where lives are on the line. Mistakes happen. I wish it were not so, but this is reality. And to lose one's license is a severe punishment. 

[ThePrincessBride, MSN, RN, NP]

And here it comes...nurses will be torched to kingdom come for making an error.

RV conviction has opened the flood gates. Any mistake you make will be scrutinized. Hopefully you have insurance to the hilt.

I bet this nurse had 39 other patients she had to deal with and got distracted,  but being Black she will probably be doing some serious prison time and will be burned at the stake.

So for those of you who support the law chasing down and prosecuting nurses...thanks a lot!

[ThePrincessBride, MSN, RN, NP]

3 hours ago, Kitiger said:

She should lose her license, but not be charged with reckless homicide.

We work in a high stress profession where lives are on the line. Mistakes happen. I wish it were not so, but this is reality. And to lose one's license is a severe punishment. 

I would need to know more details regarding if she should lose her license. How many other patients did she have? What was going on that day? Were there other safety concerns going on? 

On face value,  yes she should probably lose her license but staffing levels in a NH are criminally unsafe, and if that were the case, I am not all for beating this nurse to a pulp and stealing her livelihood. 

 

 

[ThePrincessBride, MSN, RN, NP]

3 hours ago, Kitiger said:

She should lose her license, but not be charged with reckless homicide.

We work in a high stress profession where lives are on the line. Mistakes happen. I wish it were not so, but this is reality. And to lose one's license is a severe punishment. 

Unfortunately , this is a direct consequence of allowing criminal courts to intervene in medical malpractice/negligence cases.

And Black and Indigenous nurses are more likely to suffer more harshly under the justice system than our white counterparts. Case in point. 

This is why people need to look at the bigger picture instead of in a vacuum or at a singular case.

[Wishiwasretired]

100% agree she’s at a disadvantage if she’s a person of color. Yes, nurse to patient ratios in nursing homes are insane. LTC are are also taking inappropriately high acuity patients these days. Medical professionals need legislation to protect us from criminal charges for mistakes. 

[Gayla Elliott]

Not only staffing levels but how long had she been a nurse?   Was she just thrown in because of staffing shortages?   Had she ever worked with a trach person before?   Or was this typical of the care she usually gave?   

[Rurse17]

On 5/22/2022 at 6:09 PM, ThePrincessBride said:

I would need to know more details regarding if she should lose her license. How many other patients did she have? What was going on that day? Were there other safety concerns going on? 

On face value,  yes she should probably lose her license but staffing levels in a NH are criminally unsafe, and if that were the case, I am not all for beating this nurse to a pulp and stealing her livelihood. 

 

 

There are 21 patients in her care,2 of the patients are trach and peg tube. 5 or 6 out of those 21 patients are behavior patient and high fall risk.  

[Brenda F. Johnson, MSN]

What about the facilities' responsibility? This is going to start a snowball affect for nurses. Think we have a shortage now?

[Susie2310]

In regard to comments about the nursing shortage, I have to say that I don't see this problem in my area.  I'm not convinced even that there is an overall shortage of nurses, more that employers are very selective about who they hire.  I don't see many middle aged nurses working in hospitals; I see many more youthful faces.  I remember reading that the finance industry had a practice of hiring youthful, fit looking workers, who gave the appearance of both confidence and good health.  I see a similar trend with nursing and health care in general.  I think appearance (not just physical appearance but the appearance of being a good nurse) is considered more important than substance, to a great extent.  

[MaxAttack, BSN, RN]

On 5/22/2022 at 6:05 PM, ThePrincessBride said:

And here it comes...nurses will be torched to kingdom come for making an error.

RV conviction has opened the flood gates. Any mistake you make will be scrutinized. Hopefully you have insurance to the hilt.

This lawsuit was filed in Dec 2021.

RV was a high profile case and maybe the first time some people were aware that this happens but it hasn't changed much of anything. Right or wrong, medical professionals have been facing criminal charges for years for mistakes.

[canoehead, BSN, RN]

She removed his O2 I assume, not just humidity?

I wouldnt remove it unless I had a replacement in hand. But I can 100% see leaving the room and being asked to do something else and totally forgetting to go back. Thats why you keep the dirty gross one on unless the replacement is right there.