SPOKANE, Wash. — The Washington State Nurses Association says it has filed grievances after more than a dozen nurses were fired from Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane over alleged privacy violations.
According to WSNA Executive Director David Keepnews, 15 nurses were terminated and one was disciplined within the past two months following the suicide of a 12-year-old patient at the hospital. The union claims the information accessed by the nurses was directly related to their duties in responding to the incident.
“WSNA and all of our members take the privacy guaranteed under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act with the utmost seriousness,” Keepnews said in a statement. “We reject Providence Sacred Heart’s claims that privacy was violated by nurses who were doing their jobs to assist in efforts to save the life of a 12-year-old girl in the hospital’s care.”
The union said the disciplinary actions came after the publication of an April 23 article that described concerns about the patient’s care.
Providence declined to confirm whether its statement was related to the specific grievances but said it takes privacy violations and its code of conduct seriously.
“We review employee conduct and take appropriate action, including termination of employment, where warranted,” Providence said in a statement. “Patient privacy is one of our top priorities.”
Providence said it will participate in the grievance process outlined in its collective bargaining agreement with WSNA and that it regularly provides training to staff on privacy policies and compliance with state and federal laws.
