Latest news with #NebraskaMedicine
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Nebraska says Iowa-licensed nurse is a ‘serious risk to public safety'
(Photo illustration by Iowa Capital Dispatch; background photo by JGI/) Six months after the State of Nebraska revoked a nurse's ability to practice there for posing a 'significant risk to public safety,' Iowa's Board of Nursing has agreed to let the woman continue practicing in this state. Iowa Board of Nursing records indicate Brandy Wicks, a registered nurse from Treynor, was working at an unspecified acute care hospital in 2023 when she admitted to pulling controlled and non-controlled medications from the electronic medication dispensing machine and placing the drugs in drawers in patient rooms for administration at a later time. The board also alleged Wicks pulled a dose of oxycodone out of the medication dispensing machine and documented administering the drug to a patient who later said they never received it. The board charged Wicks with misappropriating or attempting to misappropriate medications, failing to properly document or perform the disposal of medications, and failing to properly safeguard or secure medications. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX To resolve the case, Wicks recently agreed to a settlement with the board that will allow her to keep her Iowa license, although it we be placed on probationary status for two years. Records from Nebraska's Division of Public Health show that Wicks' ability to practice nursing in that state was revoked in October 2024. The division alleged Wicks was working for a Council Bluffs hospice agency, St. Croix Hospice, when a patient's spouse noticed the patient's morphine pills were missing after Wicks had visited. After the spouse inquired about the missing drugs, Wicks allegedly went back to the patient's home and returned the drugs, saying they must have fallen off a table unnoticed into her bag. Eight pills were missing from the patient's supply after Wicks returned them, according to the division. In 2023, the division alleges, Wicks was working with patients at Nebraska Medicine's trauma center when she charted that she had given a patient Oxycodone, which the patient later denied receiving. A subsequent audit allegedly revealed that over 15 days, there were 52 discrepancies in medication records involving 17 patients cared for by Wicks. According to division records, Wicks was fired from Nebraska Medicine and later failed to appear for a hearing on licensing charges. A hearing officer, Robert E. Harkins, revoked Wicks' ability to practice in Nebraska, stating that her actions were 'serious and constitute a significant risk to public safety.' The decision was affirmed by the chief medical officer of Nebraska's Division of Public Health. Wicks told the Iowa Capital Dispatch she didn't feel the Nebraska division fairly characterized her actions at the trauma center. 'They made it out to sound, like, almost like I was taking the medications — which I was not,' she said. 'That was not the case.' As for the home-hospice client's missing morphine, Wicks said, 'I believe that was a set-up. I think the family took the medication and blamed it on me. I have never taken medications from a patient, ever.' Wicks said she's currently dealing with some personal issues, but plans to resume working as a nurse soon, possibly at a nursing home in the western Iowa town of Oakland. Court records indicate Wicks is currently facing a charge of child endangerment, which, after nine continuances, is scheduled for trial on May 27. A related charge of domestic abuse assault was dismissed and a related charge of violating a no-contact order is currently 'on hold,' according to court records, pending the resolution of the child endangerment case. Earlier this year, the Iowa Board of Nursing allowed another nurse to keep her licenses after her privileges had been revoked in Nebraska. In that case, the Iowa board charged Kristine Brammer of Clearfield in 2024 with misappropriating medications or property, having her license to practice nursing revoked or suspended by another authority, and unauthorized possession or use of a controlled substance. The board alleged that while employed as a nurse at an unspecified care facility in May 2023, Brammer failed to complete the required medication counts and that narcotic medications were later found to be missing. While employed at a different care facility in June 2023, Brammer allegedly documented the administration of narcotic pain medications to patients who later denied receiving them. On Aug. 30, 2023, the State of Nebraska revoked Brammer's ability to practice there. The Nebraska records indicate that in 2022, she was fired or lost her privileges while working at two separate health care facilities and then failed to report those matters to the state. In January 2025, the Iowa Board of Nursing resolved its 2024 case against Brammer by issuing her a warning and advising her that if she failed to continue her participation in the Iowa Practitioner Health Program, she may be subject to further discipline. Other nurses recently sanctioned by the Iowa Board of Nursing include: — Judith Gonzales, an advanced registered nurse practitioner who works in the Des Moines area and is certified as a psychiatric mental health nurse. Gonzales was charged by the Iowa Board of Nursing with engaging in behavior which constitutes unethical conduct or practice harmful or detrimental to the public. She was also charged with demonstrating professional incompetence by failing to meet state standards related to controlled substances, and committing an act which causes physical, emotional or financial injury to the patient or client. Recently, the board resolved the case with a settlement agreement with Gonzales. In that agreement, the board says it charged Gonzales with professional boundary violations; prescribing or administering drugs in an unsafe manner by failing to accurately document the action and assess the patient; prescribing or administering drugs to individuals who weren't patients or who were outside her area of specialty; and committing an act that caused physical, emotional, or financial harm to a patient. The settlement agreement makes no mention of the charge of professional incompetence. According to the agreement, Gonzales' employer, who is not named by the board, received patient complaints that Gonzales was not maintaining proper physical or emotional boundaries with her clients and was oversharing her personal matters in their sessions. Further investigation subsequently revealed Gonzales had not adequately documented her patient sessions or her prescribing of pharmaceuticals, the board alleges. The board has placed Gonzales' license on probation for two years, during which time she must complete three separate six-hour courses on professional boundaries, recordkeeping, and prescribing practices. — Emma Fedler, a licensed practical nurse from Adel. Board records give conflicting accounts as to when Fedler was first issued an LPN license, with some documents indicating 2013 and some stating 2023. In 2023, Fedler's license was placed on 12 months of probation after the board charged her with an excessive use of alcohol that might impair her ability to practice nursing. That charge was tied to a criminal conviction for second-offense drunken driving, according to the board. On April 30, 2024, the board alleges, it received information that Fedler stole her co-worker's prescribed Adderall and was fired from her place of employment, which the board has not named. The board subsequently charged Fedler with engaging in behavior that is contradictory to professional decorum, and being involved in the unauthorized possession or use of a controlled substance. To settle the case, Fedler has agreed to submit to a multidisciplinary fitness for duty assessment that includes a substance abuse evaluation. Her license will again be placed on probation, this time for two years, and she will be required to submit to chemical screening. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Project Health's transformational impact will help all of Nebraska
Artist's rendering of the $85 million medical school proposed at the University of Nebraska at Kearney (Courtesy of University of Nebraska at Kearney) Nebraska's healthcare system is deeply interconnected, with rural hospitals relying on partnerships with academic medical centers and tertiary hospitals in Omaha and Lincoln. While rural hospitals serve as the frontline of care for their communities, they depend on our urban medical centers for advanced specialty care, training and research. This collaboration ensures that patients statewide have access to vital local care backed by nation-leading facilities and specialists. Over the past two decades, the University of Nebraska Medical Center has strategically expanded its rural initiatives through medical education, research and clinical care in partnership with Nebraska Medicine. This includes innovative facilities like the Davis Global Center, with world-class clinical simulation training and the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, which advances life-saving research and treatment. These institutions have revolutionized training and care for infectious disease, cardiovascular disease and cancer. Now, UNMC is taking its next step forward with Project Health, a landmark public-private partnership that will have a transformative impact on Nebraska. This project, the largest to date for the University of Nebraska System, will create a new $2.19 billion health care facility at UNMC and Nebraska Medicine that will serve as a clinical learning center to educate and train the next generation of health care providers. Biomedical scientists will conduct world-class medical research and provide clinical trials to hone prevention and treatment methods for all Nebraskans and beyond. Our state has tremendous needs when it comes to healthcare. Many counties in western and central Nebraska have no or few primary care physicians. And projections show that Nebraska will experience a workforce shortage of over 5,000 nurses this year alone. It's vital for Nebraska to have a robust long-term training pipeline for doctors, nurses and other health professionals, and Project Health addresses that need. Project Health will expand enrollment across UNMC's educational programs to meet workforce demands. It also will notably support UNMC's partnership with the University of Nebraska at Kearney Health Sciences Education Complex, where over 300 nursing, allied health and public health students soon will train alongside medical students and physicians at the new Rural Health Education Building. Additionally, Project Health will expand rural clinical rotations and medical education, ensuring that health professionals are prepared in rural hospitals and clinics — a key indicator of a physician practicing in a rural community after their residency training. Over the course of Project Health's construction through 2033, Nebraska will see a projected economic impact of $3.2 billion. Once complete, the initiative's annual contribution to Nebraska's economy is expected to exceed $1.5 billion. Project Health is the first step of several within a larger initiative — Project NExT, short for Nebraska Transformation. In 2020, our Legislature voted to support Project NExT to address Nebraska's healthcare workforce shortage. Now, the University of Nebraska is ready to move forward with key steps to bring this vision into reality. For a transformative project of this scale, public and private support are vital. Project Health is supported through a partnership that includes funding from state appropriations, private philanthropy, local government support and institutional investments. This wide-ranging support shows broad consensus for strengthening Nebraska's future healthcare capability. By supporting the state's investment in Project Health, the Unicameral helps ensure that Nebraskans, no matter where they live, have access to high-quality, affordable care. Project Health is the first step, but the vision for Project NExT is much broader — it will create a thriving and ever-changing workforce pipeline that meets the evolving needs of our state. Project Health serves multiple statewide goals — as a commitment to the well-being of Nebraskans, a driver of economic development and an investment returning benefits to the state for generations. After all, strong rural health makes for a strong rural Nebraska, ensuring communities remain vibrant and sustainable. UNMC is ready to move forward with next steps, in a spirit of innovation and dedication, to serve all of Nebraska and its healthcare needs. Jed Hansen is the executive director of the Nebraska Rural Health Association. He has been an advanced practice provider with CHI Health and has a Ph.D. in nursing from the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
