Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center & Children’s Hospital, located in Spokane, Washington, terminated fifteen nurses because of HIPAA violations. Allegedly, the nurses viewed a 12-year-old suicide patient’s health records at the children’s hospital on April 13, 2024, even if they were not directly concerned with the patient’s treatment.
Beginning in early 2024, the patient frequently came in at the hospital’s emergency department after a few self-harm occurrences and attempts to take her life. On April 13, 2024, the patient went out of her room and died after leaping from the 4th level of a car parking area. The hospital started an investigation and applied new security procedures, which include testing all patients for suicide risk.
The child’s parents are suing Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center for alleged medical malpractice and negligence. According to the lawsuit, the patient was under the care of a sitter 24/7 and had video monitoring, but those procedures were stopped on April 13, 2024. The Washington Department of Health investigated the incident and found inadequacies with Providence Sacred Heart.
Providence Sacred Heart terminated fifteen nurses in association with the incident, and disciplined one more. As per HIPAA, health records can typically only be viewed in relation to treatment, billing, or healthcare procedures. Viewing health records due to curiosity, even without malicious intention, violates HIPAA. Employees discovered to have violated HIPAA are sanctioned, which usually includes termination if involving unauthorized access to medical records.
Based on a statement given to The Spokesman-Review, the work terminations were because of patient privacy violations, as outlined by the hospital’s sanctions guideline. Providence seriously takes action in response to violations of its code of conduct and government privacy legislation regulating private health data. The medical center reviews employee conduct and takes proper action, such as firing employees, where needed.
The terminated nurses contacted the Washington State Nurses Association and submitted grievances covering their employment terminations and disciplinary action. Director David Keepnews of WSNA stated in response to this incident that the nurses only accessed information pertaining directly to their duties, hence rejecting Providence Sacred Heart’s statements that the nurses committed a privacy violation. The nurses were doing their work to help save the life of the 12-year-old girl under the care of the hospital.
The nurses and WSNA pointed out that the employment terminations and disciplinary action were retaliatory action against the nurses for talking to the media. The hospital purportedly reviewed access logs right after InvestigateWest published a story regarding the girl’s suicide. The story shared quotes from unknown sources at the hospital. According to the nurses, the medical center asked if they had spoken to the media and then they were fired.