Summary: Five nurses at a Denver hospital were suspended after they took a peek at a male patient’s junk, some even looking into the body bag after he had died.
We can all probably agree that even people on the cusp of death deserve privacy but what about dead people? Do dead people need privacy? Five nurses at a hospital in Denver don’t think so. They were captivated with the size a patient’s genitals. After the patient had passed away and even before, they apparently had to see for themselves how big he was. Some had to view his genitals by opening the body bag to see just how large his genitals were, resulting in a suspension.
The nurses were suspended for three weeks from the Denver Health Medical Center hospital for their actions. ABC 7 reported that the nurses spoke about the patient’s genital several times but only went to view them one time. The nurses did not all go together to view his genitals but went on their own between March 31 and April 3.
The Denver Police report read, “Multiple staff members viewed the victim while he was incapacitated, including after he was deceased.” The incident went unreported for at least month before a nurse who was uninvolved heard the nurses talking about it. When the other nurse heard their comments, they reported them to the proper officials.
The police were called in to investigate the incident after it was reported on May 8 but concluded that there was not enough evidence to prove a crime had been committed. They turned any disciplinary actions to the hospital to take care internally. Denver District Attorney’s Office spokesman Ken Lane said, “They determined there was insufficient evidence to prove a crime was committed, no charges were filed.” The case was given “back to Denver Health to handle internally.”
At the time, only two nurses were suspended for three weeks but upon further investigation, it was determined that three other nurses were involved. The remaining three nurses were suspended for three weeks long each as well. Four of the nurses have already returned to work. The fifth nurse no longer works for the hospital but not because she was fired, according to a hospital spokesperson.
No details of the incident such as the names of the nurses, their medical unit, or obviously the patient’s name were released. The hospital spokesman Josh Rasmussen noted that a notice of discipline was placed in their personnel files. He went on to say, “Denver Health is truly sorry this happened. This incident is not an appropriate representation of the high-quality care and compassion our clinical staff strive to provide to our patients.”
The hospital released a statement to HuffPost which read: “Their actions, which violated our policies and our Code of Conduct, were promptly reported to appropriate governmental authorities, including the Denver Police Department and the Colorado State Board of Nursing. An internal Denver Health investigation resulted in disciplinary action against all those responsible for the incident and the patient’s next of kin was notified.”
Do you think a suspension was a fair punishment for curiosity? Tell us in the comments below.
To learn more about other nurses in the news, read these articles:
