Fifteen nurses at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, Washington, have lost their jobs after hospital officials say they improperly viewed the medical records of a 12-year-old patient, Sarah Niyimbona, who died by suicide in April. With backing from their union, the nurses claim the firings are actually retaliation for their willingness to talk to the media after the high-profile case raised concerns about gaps in pediatric mental health care, per the Spokesman Review.
Sarah had been repeatedly hospitalized at Sacred Heart for suicide attempts before ultimately leaving her room unattended and dying after jumping from a hospital parking garage on the fourth floor, per KGNS. Her family has since filed a lawsuit against Providence, and the state Department of Health continues to investigate the circumstances of her death.
Providence maintains that the staff terminations were strictly tied to violations of patient privacy laws, specifically HIPAA, which prohibits unauthorized access to medical records. "Patient privacy is one of our top priorities," said hospital spokesperson Jen York, asserting that the decision to fire the nurses was based on employee conduct.
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The Washington State Nurses Association, which represents the dismissed workers, disputes the hospital's account. The union argues that nurses may have accessed Sarah's records out of professional concern, possibly as part of their duties during a crisis response, rather than for any improper purpose. The union further suggests that an audit of record access was triggered only after media reports emerged, and that the nurses' firings followed closed-door questioning about their contact with journalists.
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