Nurse Says She Was Fired After Reporting Baby Switch

A veteran nurse at Virtua Voorhees Hospital in New Jersey says she lost her job after reporting a major mix-up—two newborns were handed to the wrong mothers and breastfed before the mistake was caught. Joyce Fisher, a labor and delivery nurse with seven years at the hospital and extensive experience training staff, said she found a panicked mother convinced the baby in her arms was not hers. After checking ID bracelets, Fisher realized the babies had been switched during an overnight nursery stay, and each had been fed by the wrong woman, raising concerns about possible disease transmission, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Fisher says she did what she thought was right: reported the error to her supervisor. She says they determined that the newborns had been returned from the nursery to the wrong rooms hours before her July 5 shift began. But within days, the hospital fired her for "gross negligence," arguing she should have checked the babies' IDs at the start of her shift. Fisher disputes this, noting she'd never been instructed to do so in her time at Virtua or heard of any such policy. She's now suing for wrongful termination, alleging retaliation for reporting the mistake.

The hospital declined to comment on the details, citing ongoing litigation, but insists it encourages staff to speak up about safety concerns without fear of punishment. Still, experts warn that firing employees who report errors can discourage transparency, making future mistakes more likely. Bioethicists point out that real safety improvements come from addressing system flaws, not blaming individuals. "The narrative that is going to spread like wildfire is that it's not safe to report, which doesn't serve anyone," clinical ethics professor Cynda Rushton.

story continues below

Fisher and her attorney worry her firing will send a chilling message to others in the profession: Stay quiet, or you could be next. The hospital reported her to the New Jersey Board of Nursing. Fisher's nursing license is still active, but she tells the Inquirer that she's worried that her 16-year career is over. "This could have happened to any nurse who clocked in that morning," she says. "It happened to be me." Both families involved, meanwhile, were tested for diseases as a precaution, and everyone was medically cleared.