No Due Diligence

The Daytona Beach Journal reported on the failure of a hospital to conduct a proper background check. The Florida hospital was recently found to have hired a nurse who was never actually licensed as a nurse. When the woman was initially hired, she used the nursing license number of another nurse with the same first name as her but a different last name. She claimed to have recently been married, but never produced a marriage license.

The woman lied about her credentials, yet the hospital hired her and kept her on for 7 months, even attempting to promote her. It was during this promotion process that her forgery was discovered and properly addressed.

In clear defiance of the law, the hospital overlooked this. Despite the numerous medical records she illegally reviewed and countless patients she endangered, the hospital decided to keep her on the team for over half a year and even give her more influence within the hospital.

If hospitals are turning a blind eye to unlicensed nurses, it can only be imagined what other safety measures go unchecked and how many patients have consequently been endangered.

This could be due to for-profit driven hospitals looking to cut down on costs by hiring unqualified nurses for lower wages, or by slashing budgets so an inadequate number of staff are able to follow through with necessary safety inspections.

Further, Congress’s major Medicare and Medicaid cuts, included in the recent One Big Beautiful Bill are only expected to increase the number of such mistakes in hospitals.