Ohio Nurses Face Strict Board – Keys to Saving Your License and January 2014 Meeting Update

As we enter 2014, nurses who are being investigated by the Ohio Board of Nursing and/or who are facing pending disciplinary charges brought by the Board must know that this version of the Board is stricter than any version of the Board I have seen since I started representing nurses in 1999.  The proof is in the relatively harsh Consent Agreements and Adjudication Orders adopted by the Board during 2013 and the increased reluctance of the Board to settle cases using terms and conditions that were common prior to 2013.  The proof is also in the fact that the Board currently takes more cases to hearing when nurses will not accept the harsher settlement terms that the Board has recently been insisting upon in its proposed Consent Agreements. 

Instead of having 1 full time Hearing Examiner and using 1-2 contract Hearing Examiner’s as needed, the Board now has 3 full time Hearing Examiner’s and consistently uses 3 contract Hearing Examiners in an attempt to keep up with what seems to be an ever increasing number of cases that go to hearing instead of settling through a Consent Agreement. 

What does this mean for nurses who are being investigated by the Ohio Board of Nursing and/or who face pending disciplinary charges by the Board?  Quite simply, you will be engaged in a struggle with the Board to obtain the most lenient sanction possible through a Consent Agreement and you may be forced to take your case to hearing to try to obtain a better outcome than is being offered through Consent Agreement.  To make it through that struggle and obtain a positive outcome for your nursing license, you will need to know who to communicate with, who to avoid communicating with and how to leverage positive facts in presenting your defense to the Board.   You will also need to be patient in negotiating the terms of a Consent Agreement with the Board (the Board’s first offer is not usually its best offer) and you will need to be willing, if necessary, to take your case to hearing if the Board is being unreasonable in negotiating a Consent Agreement. 

The Ohio Board of Nursing met on January 16-17, 2014.  The Board voted to approve Consent Agreements to resolve the charges pending against numerous nursing clients of Graff & McGovern.  Most of those Consent Agreements were hard fought and took 3-6 months to negotiate the reasonable outcomes.   The Board also deliberated upon numerous Reports and Recommendations to resolve charges against nurses whose cases went to hearing instead of having the charges resolved through a Consent Agreement.  The Board’s Adjudication Orders in those cases stuck with the recent trend of imposing harsher sanctions than in years past and illustrated the fact that the Board is not obligated to follow the Hearing Examiner’s Recommendations. 

At the January 2014 Board Meeting, the Board also voted to issue a Notice of Opportunity for Hearing to 77 nurses.  Those Notices will be mailed to the respective nurses via certified mail this week.  Any nurses receiving a Notice of Opportunity for Hearing  from the Board should strongly consider consulting with experienced legal counsel to protect their interests and they should be mindful of the need to submit a written hearing request to the Board no later than 30 days from the date the Board mailed the Notice.  The failure to comply with the 30-day deadline will leave a nurse with none of the rights afforded by Ohio Revised Code Chapter 119, and it will enable the Board to sanction the nurse’s license without obtaining any input and/or agreement from the nurse.

State Medical Board of Ohio Update

The State Medical Board of Ohio begins 2014 with a new emphasis on cost savings and internal process improvement. Reduction of over-head was the resounding theme during the first Board meeting of the year held January 10, 2014. The results of Board efforts will first appear in reducing the time for many license applications. The new Expedited Licensure process applies to physicians currently licensed and actively practicing in another state. But the Board is also working to improve the renewal process for current licensees as well. Additional information regarding its licensure process is available at the Board’s website. (http://www.med.ohio.gov/practitioner.htm). 

Animal Law Committee Meeting

John Izzo attended the Ohio State Bar Association’s Animal Law Committee Meeting on January 17, 2014.  At the meeting, the Committee decided to ask the Bar Association to support HB 243.  HB 243 is in the House Judiciary Committee.  It would require a child who is adjudicated a delinquent child for cruelty to a companion animal to undergo a psychological evaluation and, if recommended, counseling, to require the court to sentence other offenders who commit that offense to probation supervision, and to include the protection of companion animals in temporary protection orders, domestic violence protections orders, anti-stalking protection orders, and related protection orders.

Agriculture Law Committee Meeting

John Izzo attended the Ohio State Bar Association’s Agriculture Law Committee Meeting on January 17, 2014.  One of the discussions during the meeting was about an OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) inspection that took place at an Ohio farm.  Generally, farms that employ less than ten non-immediate family members are exempt from OSHA regulations.  However, there is an Opinion Letter from June 2011 that may give OSHA jurisdiction over farms that have grain storage facilities and have post-harvest activity with respect to grain.  A similar inspection may have occurred in Nebraska as well.  

Casino Commission Meeting

John A. Izzo attended the Casino Control Commission Meeting on January 15, 2014.  Staff presented fifteen new and/or rule changes to be filed.  This includes minimum licensure requirements, personal check cashing, and counterfeit chips.  Hollywood Casino Columbus, Hollywood Casino Toledo, and Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati had internal control amendments approved.  Three more individuals were placed on the involuntary exclusion list, raising the total number on that list to seven.

Standardbred Development Commission

Levi Tkach and John Izzo attended the Ohio Standardbred Development Commission meeting on January 14, 2014.  During the meeting there was a lot of discussion about the Ohio Harness Horsemen Association’s proposal for Ohio Breeder Awards.  The consensus of those present supports the creation and implementation of awards for qualifying Ohio breeders and a draft proposal was circulated for comment.  While the Ohio Racing Commission joined the consensus to move forward with breeder awards, Racing Commission Chairman Schmitz said that other breeders needed to be consulted. Chairman Schmitz further expressed doubts about get a formal proposal to the Ohio legislature this year.  

In other business, the 2014 budget and conditions for the 2014 program were  approved.  During discussion Stacey Cahill suggested changing all finals to nine horses, to give another horseman the opportunity to run for the big money.  Although the Commission approved increasing the number of horses in the 4-year old class to 9 in the championship race, Steve McCoy of the OHHA disagreed with adding a ninth horse to the 2-3 year old championship race and thought there needed to be more discussion.  By a 2 to 1 vote, there will now be nine horses in all finals.  Sixteen fairs have agreed to work with the OHHA regarding their circuits.  Three more fairs may agree by next week.

Thoroughbred Racing Advisory Committee Meeting

John Izzo attended the Ohio Thoroughbred Racing Advisory Committee Meeting held on January 8, 2014.  The Committee approved a budget for 2014.  It also approved a stakes schedule for 2014, with eight more stakes races than were run last year.  The stakes season begins April 5^th at Beulah Park and is expected to end December 20 at Mahoning Valley Race Course.  Purses range from $50,000 for most stakes to $150,000 for the Best of Ohio series to be run at Belterra Park in October.  Stallion registration is up but staff was still unable to tell Racing Commission Chairman Schmitz how many active broodmares are in Ohio.  Chairman Schmitz told the Committee to request $50,000 for promotions and they will get it.  The Committee needs to advertise its program.

 

John Izzo is a featured presenter at the upcoming Equine Law CLE on March 27.  Expand your practice to advise on horse related legal issues.  

Program Description

Learn the Unique Complexities of Equine Law

With the industry steadily growing, the need for solid equine related legal advice is growing as well. The horse business is full of specific contracts, agreements and liability concerns. Enhance your skills and expand your practice by learning how to handle these issues. Register today!

• Know what the best business entity formation strategy is for your clients.
• Learn how to draft solid equine contracts and agreements.
• Understand the ins and outs of stablemen's lien laws.
• Explore the various types of equine related insurance.
• Discover how to handle common equine related litigation matters.

Who Should Attend

This basic-to-intermediate level course is designed for attorneys. It may also benefit insurance professionals, paralegals and horse business professionals.

Course Content

1. Mastering the Horse Business Basics
2. Drafting Contracts and Agreements
3. Advising Your Client on Equine-Related Insurance
4. Legal Issues Related to Stables and Boarding
5. Equine Litigation and Recent Case Law
6. Ethics in Equine Law
7. Special Topics in Equine Law
8. Horse Racing in Ohio

Continuing Education Credit

Continuing Legal Education – CLE: 6.00 *

* denotes specialty credits

JOHN IZZO is an attorney at Graff & McGovern LPA. He joined Graff & McGovern LPA in 2011, where his practice is focused on representing licensed individuals in the gaming industry in Ohio and representing clients before various licensing agencies, including the Racing Commission and Veterinary Medical Licensing Board. Mr. Izzo earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 1990 and his law degree from the University of Akron School of Law in 1993. He began his legal career with the Champaign County Child Support Enforcement Agency in Urbana, Ohio. Mr. Izzo then spent three years as an enforcement coordinator for the State Medical Board of Ohio. He spent the next three years as an assistant Ohio attorney general, during which he represented numerous agencies; including the Ohio State Racing Commission, the Ohio Veterinary Medical Licensing Board, the Motor Vehicle Salvage Dealer Licensing Board, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, and the Division of Securities and Division of Financial Institutions at the Department of Commerce. After a short time as chief counsel for the Division of Financial Institutions, Mr. Izzo became the deputy director and legal counsel for the Ohio State Racing Commission, the agency that regulates horse racing in Ohio at seven commercial racetracks and over 60 county fairs. He is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and all state courts in Ohio. Mr. Izzo is a member of the Ohio State Bar Association, and a member of the Administrative Law, Agricultural Law, Family Law and Juvenile Law committees.

Find out more in the link below.

http://www.nbi-sems.com/Details.aspx/Equine-Law/Live-Seminar/R-65178ER%7C?NavigationDataSource1=Rpp:20,Nra:pEventDate%2bpEventStartTime%2bCredit+Hours%2bpCreditRecordCreditHours%2bCredit_C2%2bpStandardPrice%2bSeminar+Location%2bScope+of+Content%2bpLocationCity%2bpDescription%2bpDivision%2bpProductId%2bpProductDescription%2bProductCode+(HIDDEN)%2bpAdditionalFormats%2bpEventId%2bpAltSpaceDesc%2bpEventIndicator,N:63943,Nf:pLocationLatLong%7cGCLT+41.39%2c-81.66+80

John Izzo attended the Ohio Veterinary Medical Licensing Board meeting on January 8, 2014.  The Board discussed the possibility of raising fees from $150 to $200 for veterinarians and from $30 to $45 for veterinary technicians.  This would give the Board in excess of $200,000 for ongoing programs.  The Board continued its discussion on the rules relating to Vaccination Clinics.  More changes were made to paragraph (A).  After over a half hour of discussion, the Board determined a vaccination clinic is a temporary clinic where a veterinarian performs vaccinations and/or immunizations against disease on multiple companion animals and where the veterinarian may diagnose and perform preventive procedures for heartworm and prevention and treatment of intestinal  parasites and fleas and ticks.  The next Board meeting will be in March.