RaDonda Vaught's Arraignment - Guilty or Not of Reckless Homicide and Patient Abuse?

By now, most nurses have heard about RaDonda Vaught, a former Vanderbilt University Medical Center nurse who was charged with reckless homicide and patient abuse as a result of administering the wrong drug that killed a patient in December 2017. Nurses Headlines News

Updated:  

A group of nurses plans to appear in their scrubs at Vaught's arraignment hearing on February 20th show their support. Included in this group is Janie Harvey Garner, founder of Show Me Your Stethoscope.

For those who are interested in showing their support by attending the arraignment, here are the details:

When?

Wednesday, February 20 @ 9:00 AM

Where?

Justice A. A. Birch Building

408 2nd Ave N,

Court Room 6D

Nashville, TN 37201

Judge: Jennifer Smith

What is Arraignment?

Once the accused is represented by counsel, the more formal part of the arraignment, the reading of the charges, takes place. The accused is expected to enter a plea: usually guilty, not guilty, or no contest. The no-contest plea means that the accused is not admitting guilt but will not contest the charges.

What is the verdict going to be???

In the following video, Janie Harvey Garner talks more about the arraignment process.

UPDATED TO ADD VIDEO RE. RADONDA VAUGHT'S NOT GUILTY PLEA

Nurse Gives Lethal Dose of Vecuronium Instead of Versed

Nurse Charged With Homicide

Nurses Call the Governor of Tennessee

3 minutes ago, JKL33 said:

How is it that that would come into play only after someone else takes a pass on what is arguably a far lesser form of discipline?

I'm wondering this too. There hasn't been a clear explanation on how this made it to the DA's desk. I find it awfully fishy that there is no access to the DOH proceedings in this case and it reaffirms my feelings that she should go before a judge and explain herself to the court and to the public.

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2 hours ago, Hoosier_RN said:

Sad. But probably will not be hirable again

I certainly hope not.

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Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.

Something stood out for me on the GoFundMe page. RV had commented that she didn't know how long it would be before she was able to work again. I presume she meant work as a nurse.

It reminded me of jail inmates I had to assess for suicidal thinking due to being charged with particularly heinous crimes. I recall 2 separate inmates (neither one with any criminal history) both saying "No, I just want this to be over with, so I can go home." I was shocked at how disconnected they were from the severity of their crimes, both of which involved someone being killed.

For me, the GoFundMe page demonstrated the same level of disconnect.

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1 hour ago, JKL33 said:

The article at the link from @Karen_tn_37211 (I believe that was the one) stated that the attorney provided a letter to the reporter (re: no further action) signed by Antoinette Welch on behalf of the DOH/BON following investigation. So I do think that part is true although it would be nice to see the referenced letter.

(I can't read the particular article any more to confirm because I've used up my free articles...). ?

Let me know if that's not the one and I'll try to remember where I came up with the idea that they've now reportedly produced some proof that the B

1 hour ago, JKL33 said:

The article at the link from @Karen_tn_37211 (I believe that was the one) stated that the attorney provided a letter to the reporter (re: no further action) signed by Antoinette Welch on behalf of the DOH/BON following investigation. So I do think that part is true although it would be nice to see the referenced letter.

(I can't read the particular article any more to confirm because I've used up my free articles...). ?

Let me know if that's not the one and I'll try to remember where I came up with the idea that they've now reportedly produced some proof that the BON did investigate and decide upon no further action.

That's the article.

Here's the letter for anyone who can't access it.

STATE OF TENNESSEE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH

DIVISION OF HEALTH LICENSURE AND REGULATION

OFFICE OF INVESTIGATIONS

Metro Center 665 Mainstream Drive, Second Floor

Nashville, TN 37243

615-741-8485 or 1-800-852-2187

[email protected]

October 23, 2018

PERSONAL CONFIDENTIAL 7005 3110 0001 7274 7346

Radpmda Vaught a

Re: Disposition of Complaint No.

Dear Ms. Vaught,

Thank you for the work you have done with us through this necessary process. A complaint, which was filed against you, was forwarded to the Board Consultant for disposition after investigation. After a review by the Board's Consultant and a staff attorney for the Tennessee Department of Health, a decision was made that this matter did merit further action.

The purpose of this letter is to inform you of the outcome. This is not a disciplinary action, and no record of it will appear in your licensure file.

As you can appreciate, this Office has the statutory duty to investigate any allegation received against a practitioner licensed and/or certified under Title 63 of the Tennessee Code Annotated. The purposes for the investigative process are to maintain the administration and enforcement of the laws regulating your practice and to ensure that the citizens of Tennessee receive good quality health care from all practitioners.

Please accept our sincere appreciation for your cooperation in the resolution of this matter.

Sincerely,

Antoinette Welch, Esq.

Director

Office of Investigations

Tennessee Department of Health

AW: be

Complaint No,

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1 hour ago, JKL33 said:

Some consistency would be nice. The DAs office has made a strong statement about why this prosecution is appropriate. How is it that that would come into play only after someone else takes a pass on what is arguably a far lesser form of discipline?

[Incidentally, but hopefully neither here nor there, there seems to be a bit of history/bad blood between Mr. Funk and Ms. Welch.]

Regardless of anything, I don't think there's any excuse for not addressing the licensing issue.

Just curious - Why do you think there is bad blood between Mr. Funk and Ms. Welch?

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Read below

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17 minutes ago, Anonymous865 said:

After a review by the Board's Consultant and a staff attorney for the Tennessee Department of Health, a decision was made that this matter did merit further action.

I got confused at first when I read this but re-checked the actual letter. It states this matter did not merit further action.

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18 minutes ago, Anonymous865 said:

After a review by the Board's Consultant and a staff attorney for the Tennessee Department of Health, a decision was made that this matter did merit further action. 

Wow... I missed this the first time I read it! So maybe they passed on any action on her license and then passed the case to the DA??

Or am I still reading wrong?

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2 minutes ago, mtmkjr said:

Wow... I missed this the first time I read it! So maybe they passed on any action on her license and then passed the case to the DA??

Or am I still reading wrong?

There's been an error in transmission... I saw the letter somewhere else and it says "did not" merit further action.

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4 minutes ago, Wuzzie said:

I got confused at first when I read this but re-checked the actual letter. It states this matter did not merit further action.

You are right. The letter said it did not merit further action.

I couldn't download the PDF document from the document cloud. I instead downloaded the Txt document from their document cloud. Apparently when it was converted to a txt document it left out the not probably because the not was underlined.

Now I can't go back and fix the post. :(

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2 minutes ago, Anonymous865 said:

You are right. The letter said it did not merit further action.

I couldn't download the PDF document from the document cloud. I instead downloaded the Txt document from their document cloud. Apparently when it was converted to a txt document it left out the not probably because the not was underlined.

Now I can't go back and fix the post. :(

Right. In the link above, you have the option to view the PDF or just the text. The tab that gives you the text has a typo making it say the opposite!

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