Sanity is madness put to good use. – George Santayana
An Open Letter to the California Board of Nursing
20Nov2011 Author: Mother Jones, RNPhoto of Kayvan Sabehgi with police. Photo Credit: SFist
Dear Sir or Madam:
It’s come to my attention through a recent news report that a California nurse allegedly acted in a negligent manner when he or she assessed an injured man who had been arrested by the Oakland Police Department during a recent Occupy Oakland protest march. According to the report, police beat Kayvan Sabehgi, a 32-year-old war veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, as he attempted to leave the protest area. A video shows police officers repeatedly striking Sabehgi with their nightsticks. Sabehgi said that he was in “unbelievable pain” during his incarceration, and that he couldn’t stand after he was taken to jail, so he crawled on his hands and knees over to his cell door and called for help. Sabehgi said he was vomiting and had diarrhea, and that the nurse on duty only offered him a suppository, which he refused to take. After 18 hours someone had the good sense to call for an ambulance to take Sabehgi to a hospital. He was taken into surgery for repair of a lacerated spleen and later spent time in the hospital’s intensive care unit.
I am appalled that a professional nurse would offer a trauma patient a suppository for vomiting and diarrhea, especially given the circumstances of his injuries. Didn’t it dawn on this nurse that Sabehgi was seriously injured and could have died while in police custody? I’m asking the California Board of Nursing to look into this story and take appropriate disciplinary action if these allegations are true. Nurses with poor clinical skills and total lack of judgment endanger the public.
Sincerely, Mother Jones, RN
5 Responses to “An Open Letter to the California Board of Nursing”
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Disclaimer
There has been a lot of chatter in the blogosphere about medical bloggers and HIPAA regulations so let me make this very clear: I write composite stories about many different people that I've cared for over the years.
Liz
November 20th, 2011 at 4:07 pm
terrifying- it’s terrifying to imagine being in that situation. we have all, in our lives, felt sick, sad, and alone. i appreciate your willingness to speak out to prevent this sort of thing from EVER happening again.
Sharon Bautista, R.N.
November 21st, 2011 at 1:12 am
Having not been there for the time the patient was in jail, you should not be trying to ruin her career! Why is it that you don’t question why the patient wasn’t IMMEDIATELY transported to hospital instead of a cell… (which isn’t the NURSE’s decision).
Why don’t you THEN question why the MD did not order an IV in the patient so that Zofran could be given for nausea? The nurse was trying to give a suppository, which in the case of an acute abdomen, is justified since he should not take anything by mouth. A few things to ponder …
1. Why feed on the attack of another nurse so readily?
2. Why was there no IV? Did the patient refuse it?
3. I’ve taken care of prisoners before. The time it takes to transport and the APPROVAL needed to do so, is ridiculously long. That is not under the nurse’s control.
4. Understand what the scope of nursing is and what is proper care in the case of a possible acute abdomen before making statements that could severely damage another nurse’s career.
5. I do not know her but you seem like a pit bull who is trying to come to the aide of a victim of the police… not a nurse!
Back off and take the letter down sister!
Sincerely, Sharon M. Bautista, R.N.
Mother Jones, RN
November 21st, 2011 at 8:21 am
Hello Sharon. Thanks for posting your comment on my blog. I’d like to respond to your concerns. First, I’m not trying to ruin anyone’s career, I’m trying to protect the public. The public’s welfare is my overriding concern. Obviously, something is askew at the jail. Is the nurse incompetent, or was the nurse stonewalled by his or her chain of command? And if so, why didn’t the nurse follow the ANA Code of Ethics, call and ambulance, and call and call it day. Or, maybe there is something else going on here. Perhaps (and this is just conjecture) due to state budget cuts, the detention center is using unlicensed personnel to provide nursing care. Maybe an equivalent to a CNA assessed Sabehgi. Where is the oversight? Regardless, I believe the California Board of Nursing is the best choice to investigate this situation. They are non-partisan and their only agenda is to protect the public’s health.
Sharon Bautista
November 21st, 2011 at 3:51 pm
I have a quick minute to respond here. I know for a fact that it is a chain of command issue. Just 2 weeks ago, I had a pt. in a hospital, (who was a prisoner). We, (meaning MD’s, case manager, RN, etc…) were desperately trying to send pt. out to another facility that did TIPS procedure that he desperately needed. Due to the need for “special” transport needed to accompany prisoners, it took HOURS. The MD, nurses, etc… kept constant pressure on the guards who were watching the patient, but it did no good. He was sent out in time for treatment, but I felt very blocked in my transport of patient. In this case, the protester should never have been arrested in the first place, should never have been brought to a cell when he needed a hospital, etc… but I really feel that it was an attempted cover up for police brutality. To admit that this pt’s spleen was bleeding was bad for those holding him captive. I have a hard time believing that a nurse would intentionally let harm come to a protester/patient especially, but an investigation would be great prior to posting “opened” letters.
Innocent before proven guilty … what happened to that?
If this was me that you were writing me about, I’d sue you if a law suit came upon me and caused damage to my reputation.
Just being honest.
Sharon
Sharon Bautista
November 21st, 2011 at 4:02 pm
I see what you mean. If there was no actual nurse on duty, this needs to be looked at closely, but when I read your article, it said that a “nurse” tried to give the pt. a suppository. It didn’t mention any question of whether the practitioner was licensed or unlicensed. Regardless, an opened letter… not so sure the right thing. Take care and good luck with your investigation.