Jim McGovern's Supplemental Nursing Board Update: 154 Notices of Opportunity for Hearing Issued By the OBN

The Ohio Board of Nursing met on July 30-31, 2015.  Jim McGovern of Graff & McGovern, LPA, attended and otherwise participated as legal counsel for numerous nurses.  His supplemental report is as follows.

At the July 2015 Board Meeting, the Board voted to issue 154 Notices of Opportunity for Hearing charging nurses with violations of the Nurse Practice Act.  This is the most Notices I have seen the Nursing Board issue at a single Board Meeting since I started representing nurses back in 1999.  Of the 154 Notices, 20 were Notices of Automatic Suspension and 20 were Notices of Immediate Suspension.  All of the Notices were mailed to the respective nurses via certified mail this week. 

All 20 of the Notices  of Immediate Suspension and Opportunity for Hearing involved drug related felonies / Intervention in Lieu of Conviction.

The 20 Notices of Automatic Suspension and Opportunity for Hearing break down as follows:

Failure to Submit to CD Evaluation	10
Failed Drug Screen	3
Self Administering Drugs	3
Gross Sexual Imposition	1
Operating a Vehicle Under the Influence	1
Failure to Follow License Restriction	2

The remaining Notices of Opportunity for Hearing break down as follows:

Misdemeanor Drug Offense	5
Felony Offense (Non - Drug Related))	7
Medication Administration	14
Theft of Medications	2
Substance Abuse	7
Felony Offense (Drug Related)	15
Fraud in The Application	3
Reciprocal / Sister State Discipline	31
Profanity / Disorderly Conduct	2
Failure to Practice Within Safe Standards	6
Witness of Sexual Abuse Not Reported	1
Fraud in The Application	2
Positive Drug and/or Alcohol Screen	6
Fraudulent Billing	2
Failure to Maintain Professional Boundaries	4
Fitness to Practice / Mental Health	1
Medication Discrepancies	1
Misdemeanor Offense (Non - Drug Related)	2
Assault	1
Identity Fraud	1

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.

For nurses who now face pending disciplinary charges by the Board, this means 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, what information to share 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, since the Board’s first offer is usually not its best offer.  Finally, you need to be willing, if necessary, to take your case to hearing if the Board is being unreasonable in negotiating a Consent Agreement. 

James M. McGovern, Esq.   

Phone:  614-228-5800 Ext. 2

Fax:  (614) 228-8811 

E-mail: jmcgovern@grafflaw.com