A Utah Nurse Bullied By Police

On July 26th, nurse Alex Wubbels was working a shift at the University of Utah Hospital. She was tending to a patient who was in a coma; he was the victim of a drunk driver and was badly burned. The course of Nurse Wubbels ' shift changed dramatically when the police arrived.According to Wubbels ' account and police body cam and hospital security camera footage, police officers came to the unit and demanded that the patient ' s blood be drawn as part of their investigation.Wubbels, being a well-prepared and astute nurse, informed the officers that a hospital policy created in coordination with the Salt Lake City Police Department states very clearly that procedures such as blood draws cannot be performed on comatose or unconscious patients without a warrant. She printed the policy and handed it to the officer.(Of note, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2016 that blood tests demanded by police without an appropriate warrant is contrary to privacy interests and public safety. Since that decision, such blood tests are forbidden without a warrant.)Either oblivious to the policy and Supreme Court decision or simply hell bent on getting what he wanted, the officer proceeded to verbally bully Wubbels, shortly thereafter handcuffing her and escorting her from the hospital to a squad car as she screamed that she was innocent of any wrongdoing. She was wrongfully detained in the hot police car for 20 minutes and eventually released. News coverage and outrage from the nursing co...
Source: Digital Doorway - Category: Nursing Tags: nurse nurses nursing Source Type: blogs