There were at least earlier 10 complaints against a nurse who allegedly stole hospital drugs and fell on a patient, according to documents filed in court. The state nurses board took no action against the employee until the patient died, according to documents.
That accident happened at Delano Regional Medical Center, but that is not the only hospital in Kern County where he worked. Hospital staffers say they complained to the California Board of registered nursing but nothing was done.
“We trusted the hospital, the doctors, the nurses,'' said Ana Moreno. ''I do feel very lied to.''
Moreno and her siblings say that feeling of betrayal comes six years after their father passed away. They say doctors at Delano Regional Medical Center told them Rigoberto Rodriguez died from respiratory complications.
But now the family found court records that say a nurse caring for their father the day he died was under the influence of drugs and fell on him while performing CPR.
17News has discovered that nurse, John Michael Jones, also worked at San Joaquin Community Hospital. Officials say they fired Jones for stealing drugs, reported him to the California Board of Registered Nursing and then two months later he was working at Delano Regional Medical Center.
The hospital staff at Delano Regional Medical Center won't talk about the case, but officials at San Joaquin did.
“What's troubling about this case and many, many cases in this state is that there are many employees in hospitals today, who if you go in they may not show anything on their account on their BRN (Board of Registered Nurses) website, but yet they do have issues. This case is one of those,” Jarrod McNaughton of San Joaquin Community Hospital said.
According to court records, Jones worked at three hospitals before he was hired at Delano Regional. The documents say at least 10 complaints were filed with the California Board of Registered Nursing after Jones was accused of stealing prescription drugs like Morphine and Vicodin from his patients.
Critics say while the Board of Registered Nursing is supposed to protect the public, it can take years for the state to investigate complaints and take action against a nurse's license. And if no action is taken, hospital officials say they'll never know about the complaints.
''There is no way for hospitals or healthcare providers to know whether or not a staff member has any negatively affecting things on their license sometimes for years afterwards,” McNaughton said.
The Board of Registered Nursing could not talk about Jones or his case on Monday, but admits complaints are not available to healthcare officials. The state says hospitals can only find out if a license is active and good-standing.
''Complaints are not public information. But once a complaint has risen to the level of an administrative action needing to take place that information is forwarded to the Attorney General’s Office and there again we are working with another agency that is outside the Consumer of Affairs,'' Heidi Goodman of the state board said.
The state says every complaint is investigated, and if necessary, those complaints are handed over to the Attorney General’s Office. Goodman says the board works with their Division of Investigations and the Attorney General’s Office to review complaints as quickly as possible.
The state board says every registered nurse is fingerprinted and starting this year, nurses must report any criminal charges to the board.
As for Jones, according to court records he pleaded no contest to drug charges six years ago and his license was revoked.
