'Why was nobody watching her? 15 nurses fired as family ask how death-plunge girl left room undetected
Sarah Niyimbona died on April 13 after leaving her room at a children's hospital in Spokane, Washington, and jumping from the fourth floor of its parking garage.
Now 15 staffers have been dismissed amid questions over how the girl - who had been admitted several times last year for attempting to kill herself - was allowed to leave her room undetected.
Administrators at Providence Sacred Heart Children's Hospital said the dismissals came after the nurses improperly accessed Niyimbona's private medical files following her death.
The nurses were accused of accessing the records for no legitimate medical purposes, the Spokesman-Review reported.
'Providence takes violations of our code of conduct and federal privacy laws that govern private health information very seriously,' hospital spokesperson Jen York told the outlet.
'We review employee conduct and take appropriate action, including termination of employment, where warranted. Patient privacy is one of our top priorities.'
Bobbi Nodell, a spokesperson for the Washington State Nurse Association union, said the violations could have been as simple as 'hovering' over the girl's chart from 'concerned nurses who worked with that patient.'
The girl's mother, Nasra Gertrude, recalled rushing to the hospital after her daughter jumped from the garage.
'I ask what happened,' she told Investigate West. 'How come she left the room without anybody seeing her? How come she walked all the way to the elevator without anybody seeing her?
'They haven't given me any answer at all. I trusted this hospital to take care of my daughter.
'My heart got a little peace. At least I can go to work without receiving a 911 call that Sarah had attempted or was taken to the hospital. At least I can sleep.
'At least I don't have to worry about Sarah much because I know she's in safe hands. I trusted this hospital.'
Gertrude said that her daughter had been a happy child, but began to experience bullying in middle school and was suspended several times for fighting.
The young girl's sister, Asha Joseph, told PBS: 'We're confused how this could happen. We also want to know why there wasn't anyone there at the moment, why there was nobody watching her and how she was able to leave.
'We don't really know anything. We don't have any of the answers.'
A GoFundMe account launched by the girl's her family states: 'It's tragic that her potential was cut short due to lack of care. An act of negligence led to her passing and we're left with so many questions.'
It added that Niyimbona was a 'shining light, a bright angel who lit up our lives with her presence.'
'Sarah was intelligent, independent and outspoken, with a unique perspective on life that was truly magical,' her sister, Joseph, added.
'Her selflessness and compassion touched the hearts of everyone she met, from family and friends to peers and teachers.
'It's heartbreaking that the one place that was supposed to keep her safe failed to do so.'
The hospital said in a statement to the Spokesman-Review: 'We are heartbroken about the tragedy that occurred at Sacred Heart Medical Center. Safe, compassionate care is always our top priority.
'We believe that Sacred Heart Medical Center provides compassionate and thoughtful care to our patients in alignment with our mission and values. We extend our deepest sympathy to the patient's loved ones.'
Niyimbona's family filed a lawsuit against the hospital over accusations of neglect and medical malpractice.
Preventive and safety measures to help protect and monitor the girl were reportedly removed from her room before her death, including round-the-clock video and a health care worker, or 'sitter,' assigned to her room, Investigate West reported.
There was also an alarm on her door to notify hospital staff if she opened her hospital room door.
According to the lawsuit reviewed by the outlet, the hospital 'failed to properly utilize and monitor alarms in Sarah's room allowing her to escape.'
'I feel like they neglect my daughter and they neglect me. I feel like they were tired [of] seeing Sarah there, so they didn't care about looking after her all the time,' Gertrude told the Spokesman-Review.
The nurses are fighting their terminations over looking at Niyimbona's medical records, claiming the firings happened only after they spoke with media following the girl's death.
'The union was contacted by these nurses and has field grievances over the terminations and disciplinary actions, arguing that any information accessed pertained directly to the nurses' duties responding to this crisis,' Washington State Nurse Association Director David Keepnews said in a statement to the Spokesman-Review.
A hospital-wide email on the night of Niyimbona's death told staff to refrain from posting about the incident or making any comments on social media, and many staff members said they felt pressured to stay quiet, according to Cascade PBS.
The nurses had reportedly expressed concern to hospital management for the young girl's safety but had been ignored.
'That's where this frustration and feeling of helplessness is really coming from,' one of Niyimbona's nurses told the outlet.
'We did try to speak up. We did try to say, "This isn't safe. We cannot take away the security because she's going to hurt herself."'
A former nurse of the children's psychiatric unit, Kaili Timperley, added to the outlet: 'We said this is what was going to happen. We said their plan was not an adequate plan.
'You can't just put these kids in a medical room and expect everything to be okay. It's why we tried to fight against it and get the word out.'
Niyimbona had been moved to the hospital's general pediatrics unit from the ER, where two rooms had been converted into new psychiatric beds.
The rooms reportedly lacked proper safety measures that the shuttered unit had, including locked doors that make it harder for patients to leave without alerting staff.
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