Nurse fired for mocking baby’s defect in photos posted online
Hospital fires employee for breaching patient privacy after social media posts
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.An intensive care nurse in Miami, Florida, has been fired from her job after she shared images of a baby with birth defects on Instagram, in violation of a patient’s privacy.
Sierra Samuels, who was a nurse at Jackson Memorial Hospital, allegedly posted the images of the baby without permission and against rules for staffers last month, before she was fired.
According to 7News Miami and CBS4 Miami, the infant had been born with a condition where the intestines are outside the body, known as gastroschisis.
Ms Samuels allegedly wrote that her “night was going great then boom”, along with an image of the baby on her Instagram.
She added that “Your intestines [are supposed] to be inside not outside baby”, and shared a second image of the baby, it was alleged.
Woman badly injured after being attacked by a large alligator in Florida
Texas shooting: ‘Armed and dangerous’ student suspect on the run after four wounded at high school
Lindsey Graham booed by own party for encouraging Covid vaccinations
Sage Steele: ESPN host pulled off air in rant about Barack Obama’s race and vaccine mandates
Man charged with killing hospital co-worker, wounding police
The hospital, where Ms Samuels has worked since 2016, said it terminated her contact following the Instagram posts and her violation of patient privacy.
“Employees who violate these privacy rules, despite being educated, are subject to disciplinary action including suspension or termination,” said Jackson Memorial Hospital to CBS4.
“As soon as we learned of this potential breach, we immediately placed this employee under administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.”
It was also believed that Ms Samuels breached the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which prevents healthcare professionals from sharing personal health details without permission.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments