Schwarzenegger Cleans House At Nursing Board

As the debate over health care reform in this country continues to intensify, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger took matters into his own hands on Monday as he fired three of the six sitting members of California's State Board of Nursing, including the Board's President Susanne Phillips, for taking too long to discipline nurses for aggregious misconduct.

Schwarzenegger's sweeping reform action comes just a day after a Los Angeles Times report that it takes the nursing board an average of three years and five months to investigate and close complaints against nurses.

In a written statement, Schwarzenegger said "it is absolutely unacceptable that it takes years to investigate such outrageous allegations of misconduct against licensed health professionals whom the public rely on for their health and well-being."

Nurses with documented histories of providing incompetent health care, drug theft, drug abuse and criminal convictions are allowed to continue providing health care without restriction, moving from hospital to hospital with spotless records. Potential employers are often left without any knowledge of the risks associated with these nurses.

The report cites dozens of cases in which nurses maintained clean records in California despite being suspended or fired by employers, disciplined by another California licensing board or restricted from practice by other states.

Schwarzenegger fired off a two-paragraph letter to President Phillips, vice president Elizabeth O. Dietz, a professor of nursing at San Jose State, and Janice Glaab, a public affairs consultant in which he curtly thanked them for their service. A fourth board member, Andrea Guillen Dutton, submitted her resignation on Sunday.

All four board members were appointed by Gov. Schwarzenegger.

Two of the three vacancies on the board were immediately filled. Schwarzenegger added his "administration is dedicated to protecting public health and safety, and the new board will act quickly and decisively to achieve that goal."

Gov. Schwarzenegger expects the new board to immediately submit a plan for reforming the nursing disciplinary system, one that will both alleviate the case backlog and hasten the speed in which cases are investigated and closed.

Time will only tell what effect this reform will have on the California's nursing industry. As more and more people are obtaining certification from nursing schools or programs that provide online nursing degrees, it would seem that a system to identify potentially unqualified individuals from entering the nursing industry up front would be worthy avenue to explore in addition to changes to the disciplinary system itself.

Written by Gabriel Dorman
gabedorman@gmail.com
www.criminaldefenseduilawyer.com/blog/