While Vaught's defense acknowledged the tragic nature of Murphey's death, her attorneys argued that her mistake was not a conscious, criminal act of homicide. They elected the director of a nonprofit that works in prisons to be their foreperson. In the hours after the verdict, candidate Sara Beth Myers issued a statement calling Vaught's actions "civil medical malpractice" that should not have been handled in criminal court. This verdict is tied to a medication error that Vaught made in 2017 while working at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, which ultimately resulted in the patients death. Shed made medication errors before, although none so grievous. And thousands also joined a Facebook group planning to gather in protest outside Vaughts sentencing hearing in May. This is a case against one individual.. Former nurse RaDonda Vaught was sentenced to three years supervised probation Friday in a Get the Android Weather app from Google Play, $100K winning Powerball ticket sold in Nashville, Court allows TNs ban on youth transgender care, DeKalb Co. crews battle boat fire at Edgar Evins, Lady Vol great Nikki McCray-Penson dies at 51, Barkley rewriting will to make Auburn more diverse, TSU hosts celebrity game for mens basketball program, Desmond Bane signs largest contract in Grizzlies, giving a patient a fatal dose of the wrong medication, These pieces of interval training equipment help, This Philips flosser will make your teeth feel and. Janie Harvey Garner, who founded the nurse advocacy organization Show Me Your Stethoscope, disagreed. Where does the line end now? amassed about 187,000 signatures as of April 4. RaDonda Vaught was convicted of reckless homicide and impaired adult abuse in the death of Charlene Murphey at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. "The DA's decision to charge this nurse is just one more example of how his misjudgments continue to make our community more divided and less safe. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our web site. "We thought we had closure. verdict RaDonda Vaught, guilty of criminally negligent homicide, speaks out Vaught faces more than ten years in prison for charges of reckless homicide and abuse of an impaired adult stemming from a deadly medication error in Dec. 2017. Fifteen years of my life devoted to this; early mornings, late nights, overtime., It was a passion Kirby fell into early on, with nursing becoming part of her identity. RaDonda Vaught Guilty: Nashville DA's office releases statement Interval training is highly effective for boosting cardiovascular endurance and promoting overall fitness. RaDonda Vaught:Key players in the case against former Nashville nurse, Vaught:RaDonda Vaught: The former Nashville nurse faces years in prison after conviction. The patient's family called comments by some candidate candidates"humiliating" and "degrading," andsays the ongoing national debate over the case has "retraumatized" her family, according toa statement released by District Attorney Glenn Funk's office. Guilty verdict for former nurse in death of woman accidentally given An expert witness for the state argued that Vaught violated the standard of care expected of nurses. Punishment for a harmful act someone actually did is justice., Vaught was acquitted of reckless homicide but convicted of a lesser charge, criminally negligent homicide, and gross neglect of an impaired adult. It's time for change," she wrote Friday. Annie Kirby said that she has worked at a number of hospitals across Middle Tennessee as a Registered Nurse, most recently at the St. Thomas Hospital for Specialty Surgery. |RaDonda Vaught Case: Continuing Coverage. Statements from the American Nurses Association, the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, and the National Medical Association each said Vaughts conviction set a dangerous precedent. Linda Aiken, a nursing and sociology professor at the University of Pennsylvania, said that although Vaughts case is an outlier, it will make nurses less forthcoming about mistakes. DEIJ Policy | Ethics Policy | Privacy Policy. RaDonda Vaught I turned in my notice last Wednesday, explained Kirby. Two days later, doctors trying to determine the cause of the bleed ordered a PET scan to check for cancer. As your District Attorney, I take the side of the victim Charlene Murphey and her family," he wrote. Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. She was also found guilty of gross neglect of an impaired adult in a case that has fixed the attention of patient safety advocates and nurses organizations around the country. Some worry the decision to try the case in criminal court, instead of by professional regulatory boards, could make people fearful of reporting mistakes and down the road lead to issues with patient safety if broken systems aren't caught. Tennessee taxpayers could, under a new court ruling, be liable for years of back payments to emergency room doctors. In any other circumstance, I cant believe anyone including nurses would accept I didnt mean to as a serious defense, Shelp said. Powerball jackpot hits $650M: Whens the next drawing? Read the ANA's statement in reaction to the verdict and sentencing of former Vanderbilt University Medical Center nurse, RaDonda Vaught, from May 13, 2022. I didnt think they would convict her, it was emotional and then I thought what is next? RaDonda Vaught I dont know how Nashville is going to handle it, Visant said of the protest during a recent episode about Vaughts trial. RaDonda Vaught was accused of giving Charlene Murphey, a 75-year-old patient, a fatal dose of the wrong medication in December 2017. Like many nurses, Moore wondered if that could be her. Nurse RaDonda Vaught faces criminal trial for medical error The family's statement did not name Myers or fellow Democratic candidate P. Danielle Nellis directly. Nurses see that. October 2015 RaDonda Vaught, a licensed nurse, Ex-nurse RaDonda Vaught speaks out ahead of guilty verdict. Powerball jackpot hits $650M: Whens the next drawing? She also slammed Funk for choosing to take Vaught's case to a jury while accepting plea deals in other high profile cases. How do stairclimbers compare to treadmills? And setting a precedent for criminally charging [for] an error is only going to make this exponentially worse.. Keeping tooth enamel clean is crucial, but if you dont tackle whats stuck between your teeth, it can have all sorts of health and hygiene implications. Criminally neglent homicide was a lesser charge included under the original charge. RaDonda Vaught was working as a nurse at Vanderbilt University Medical Center when, on Dec. 26, 2017, she made a mistake that resulted in the death of her The response was overwhelming. NASHVILLE, Tenn. A jury on Friday convicted a former Nashville nurse of reckless homicide and impaired adult abuse after she was accused of inadvertently Vaughts supporters catapulted a plea for her clemency to the top of Change.org, a petition website. Vaught has been emotional throughout the week often crying, as has the victims family. The verdict: Ex-nurse RaDonda Vaught found guilty on two charges in death of patient RaDonda Vaught 38, was found guilty Friday of two charges, criminally negligent NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) A trial date has been set for a former nurse at Vanderbilt University Medical Center accused of giving a patient a fatal dose of the wrong medication. Those using her death for personal gain should be ashamed.". I dont think she should be criminalized for making a mistake and saying everything that happened. Shes never denying that she made a mistake. She graduated from Wesleyan University in 2016. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: RaDonda Vaught verdict: Vanderbilt ex-nurse found guilty on 2 charges. There was also no scanner in the imaging area for Vaught to scan the medication against the patients ID bracelet. Thursday, more nurses were inside the courtroom than seen throughout the week, several traveled from out of state. RaDonda was forthcoming with her mistake and here we are years later in a criminal case for her being honest. Photo at Vanderbilt University Medical Center by John Partipilo. Ashley Bartholomew, 36, a Tampa, Florida, nurse who followed the trial through YouTube and Twitter, echoed the fear of many others. Follow Tennessee Lookout on Facebook and Twitter. They warn that the fallout will ripple through their profession, demoralizing and depleting the ranks of nurses already stretched thin by the pandemic. A jury of her peers would have all been ICU nurses, Garner said. There are some important considerations to keep in mind while deciding whether a stairclimber or a treadmill will provide you with the best workout. What the RaDonda Vaught, RN, Verdict Reveals About Our Healthcare System April 1, 2022 at 12:42 pm Nurses everywhere have been following the trial and verdict of "My opponents have taken the side of the person convicted by a jury in this case. One thing that everybody agrees on is its going to have a dampening effect on the reporting of errors or near misses, which then has a detrimental effect on safety, Aiken said. "When the Tennessee Bureau of Investigationbrought this case to me, I found out this was not about one mistake," Funk wrote in a statement released Thursday afternoon. Prosecutors agreed there was no evidence she intended to kill Murphey. Thursday during closing arguments, Vaught held her head down facing towards the ground. The big response we are seeing is because all of us are acutely aware of how bad the pandemic has exacerbated the existing problems, Bartholomew said. RaDonda Vaught case: a double standard for nurses, physicians As of April 4, more than 8,200 people had joined a Facebook group planning a march in protest outside the courthouse during her sentencing May 13. The guilty verdict comes after RaDonda Vaught is said to have administered a fatal dose of the wrong medication to 75-year-old Charlene Murphey in December of 2017. Ex-nurse found guilty of criminally negligent homicide in medication From the nurses to the jurors,there was quite a bit of reaction inside the courtroom Thursday. All rights reserved. The case of RaDonda Vaught highlights a double standard for nurses and physicians. Ive been called into medicine since I was little and really enjoy helping people and getting the opportunity to make a difference in peoples lives and using my skills and knowledge to do that.. Patient safety expert Bruce Lambert, in an interview before the verdict, said it was extremely concerning that Vaught was being criminally prosecuted for a medical error. Medics see it. The immutable fact of this case is that Charlene Murphey is dead because RaDonda Vaught couldnt pay attention to what she was doing., Vaught said she is concerned that the verdict with cause other providers to be wary about coming forward to tell the truth. WebThe verdict: Ex-nurse RaDonda Vaught found guilty on two charges in death of patient. "Our mother, Charlene Murphey, was a caring and loving person. At Gray, our journalists report, write, edit and produce the news content that informs the communities we serve. There were many nurses in the courtroom and I think we are all a little disappointed in her representation of us, Nurse practitioner Rebecca Ray told News 2. Unfortunately, medical errors can and do happen, even among skilled, well-meaning, and vigilant nurses and health care professionals. RaDonda Vaught News 2 reached out to the Tennessee Nurses Association, as well as the American Nurses Association to see if they have seen a similar trend of nurses resigning. RaDonda Vaught sentenced to three years probation on diversion They wanted justice for Charlene Murphey and that is what our office achieved for them," Funk wrote. On March 25, about 2,400 miles away in a Tennessee courtroom, former nurse RaDonda Vaught was convicted of two felonies and facing eight years in prison for a fatal medication mistake. The repercussions are wide-reaching in this case, she said impacting anyone that seeks healthcare. Then the stakes became clear. As Vaught waited for the verdict on Friday morning, she was continuously approached by local nurses who had come to the courthouse to support her. If I forget to put a bed rail up and walk out of my room and my confused patient gets up and falls and ends up dying from that, am I facing criminal charges because we were short-staffed and overwhelmed and I just forgot? Did you win $450 million jackpot? Updated: Mar 25, 2022 / 01:34 PM CDT UPDATE: A verdict has been reached read more here. RaDonda Vaught verdict Ex-nurse RaDonda Vaught found guilty on two charges in death of patient, Key players in the case against former Nashville nurse, RaDonda Vaught: The former Nashville nurse faces years in prison after conviction, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. 'ZERO REGRETS ABOUT TELLING THE TRUTH': Ex-nurse RaDonda Vaught speaks out ahead of guilty verdict. While others are watching across the country, many say this should be a civil matter and if Vaught is found guilty, it could change the landscape of nursing, having a domino effect on healthcare for everyone. US drone strike kills Islamic State group leader in Syria, Defense Department says. The candidates are seeking the Democratic nomination in the May 3 primary. Nellis agreed with her opponent Myers that the case should have been handled in civil court. Lee spokesperson Casey Black said that outside of death penalty cases the governor relies on the Board of Parole to recommend defendants for clemency, which happens only after sentencing and a board investigation. This is not a case against the nursing community, said Assistant District Attorney Chadwick Jackson. Funk, the incumbent Democratic DA who is seeking reelection,insists that interpretation is baseless. Pope Francis names 21 new cardinals, including prelates based in Hong Kong and Jerusalem. It is very much a systemic problem and as a result of that, it will happen at other hospitals. RaDonda Vaught's trial has ended. This timeline of the case explains US drone strike kills Islamic State group leader, CA student commutes to class by plane to save on, Shooter claims self-defense after 2 killed at Cook, L.A. teens duct tape prom dress turns heads, Anderson to be honored as Oprys longest-serving, BestReviews.com - Top gifts to make everyone happy this summer, Prime Day 2023: Here are the best early deals, These are the hidden gems of Prime Day 2023, Best early Prime Day deals for $100 or less, Shooter on scooter in NYC arrested, NYPD says, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. UPDATE: A verdict has been reached read more here. On March 25, 2022, a jury found RaDonda Vaught guilty of criminally negligent homicide and gross neglect of an impaired adult. RaDonda Vaught and her attorney Peter Strianse listen as verdicts are read at the end of her trial in Nashville, Tenn., on Friday, March 25, 2022. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) The healthcare community is seeing an impact after former Nashville nurse RaDonda Vaught was convicted in the death of a patient for a prescription drug mix-up. The sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 13. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of photos and graphics. Brett Kelman, Correspondent, joined KHN after 15 years of beat reporting at three newspapers in the USA Today Network, most recently covering health care, the opioid crisis, and the coronavirus pandemic for The Tennessean in Nashville. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) A trial date has been set for a former nurse at Vanderbilt University Medical Center accused of giving a patient a fatal dose of the wrong medication. Vanderbilt nurse RaDonda Vaught's guilty verdict and 'Just Culture' She said it was a difficult decision as a single mother whose been working in the nursing community for nearly 15 years. WNDU So, when it does, are we meeting it with criminal action every time and at what line do we draw, questioned RN Elisabeth Vincent. Interviewed after the verdict, Vaught said she was relieved to have a resolution after 4 1/2 years and hopes Murpheys family is relieved as well. Scott Shelp, a California nurse with a small YouTube channel, posted a 26-minute self-described unpopular opinion that Vaught deserves to serve prison time. The American Nurses Association on Wednesday released a statement of concern the trial could set a worrying precedent and discourage nurses from reporting errors. The report reveals Vaughtwas familiar with Versed and had given it to patients before and the steps to administerVecuroniumare very different. You dont do something that impacts a family like this, that impacts a life, and not carry that burden with you.. Several nurses in the courtroom reacted to the prosecutions last witness, legal nursing consultant, Donna Jones. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Nurses have long felt forced into impossible situations by mounting responsibilities and staffing shortages, she said, particularly in hospitals that operate with lean staffing models. In California, he was a contributor to The Wall, a Pulitzer Prize-winning examination of the border wall proposed by former president Donald Trump. RaDonda Vaught sits in the courtroom ahead of her sentencing in Nashville, Updated 11:50 p.m. Murphey, 75, died on Dec. 27, 2017, after being injected with the wrong drug. Why nurses are raging and quitting after the RaDonda RaDonda Vaught found guilty on two charges in death of patient In the first formal statement since the trial, Murphey's daughter-in-law Chandra Murphey echoed his sentiments. He is a graduate of the University of Florida. On Friday, a jury found Vaught guilty of criminally negligent homicide and gross neglect. She was sentenced to three years' probation. In his statement released Thursday, Funk hinted he believed civil or regulatory avenues were insufficient. Keeping tooth enamel clean is crucial, but if you dont tackle whats stuck between your teeth, it can have all sorts of health and hygiene implications. Shed made medication errors before, although none so grievous. Vanderbilt nurse accused of administering RaDonda Vaught38, was found guilty Friday of two charges, criminally negligent homicide and abuse of an impaired adult, for her failure to catch the mistake at several points before Murphey was injected. by Brett Kelman, Tennessee Lookout April 5, 2022. I would never Google a medication or recommend googling or looking up side effects and administration instructions, but instead using our evidence-based practices resources. Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Vaught was also slammed for leaving Murphey with scan techniciansand not personally monitoring her vitals after giving the medication. Her case raises consequential questions about how nurses use computerized medication Nashville Tennessean 0:00 1:15 A jury on Friday convicted former Nashville nurse RaDonda Vaught of criminally negligent homicide and abuse of an impaired adult Murphey had been admitted to the neurological intensive care unit on Dec. 24, 2017, after suffering from a brain bleed.