Jackson Memorial Hospital confirmed to CBS4 News that Sierra Samuels, a neonatal nurse at the intensive care unit, has been fired after she posted photos mocking a baby with a congenital disability on her social media.
Samuels was placed on administrative leave after posting photos that invaded a patient’s privacy, sharing pictures of a baby born with a congenital disability, and added commentary about the child’s condition.
The first post shared read, “My night was going great, then boom!”
The other read, “Your intestines posed (sic) to be inside not outside baby” and added “#gastroschisis.”
The CDC defines gastroschisis to be “a birth defect of the abdominal (belly) wall. The baby’s intestines are found outside of the baby’s body, exiting through a hole beside the belly button. The hole can be small or large, and sometimes other organs, such as the stomach and liver, can also be found outside of the baby’s body.”
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A statement from a Jackson Health System representative addressing the issue read, in part, “Employees who violate these privacy rules, despite being educated, are subject to disciplinary action including suspension or termination. As soon as we learned of this potential breach, we immediately placed this employee under administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.”
Besides violating the Jackson Memorial Hospital privacy mandate, she also went against HIPAA’s rules.
HIPAA’s mandates “establishes national standards to protect individuals’ medical records and other personal health information and applies to health plans, health care clearinghouses, and those health care providers that conduct certain health care transactions electronically. The Rule requires appropriate safeguards to protect the privacy of personal health information, and sets limits and conditions on the uses and disclosures that may be made of such information without patient authorization.”
Jackson Health System mentioned that all its employees are required to undergo privacy policy training regularly.
Samuels had reportedly been employed with Jackson since 2016.
