State lawmakers are calling for an investigation of the Minnesota Board of Nursing's disciplinary practices, saying more needs to be done to protect patients from potentially dangerous nurses.
The head of the Senate committee that oversees licensing boards, Kathy Sheran, DFL-Mankato, said she will seek an audit of the board and a legislative hearing to examine the board's actions.
"We need to determine … that the process of reviewing complaints creates an outcome that assures public safety to the best of our ability," she said Friday. "How can we strengthen it? How can we do it better?"
The call for scrutiny follows a Star Tribune report Oct. 6 that the Nursing Board has forgiven or tolerated misconduct in Minnesota that would end careers in other states, based on a review of more than 1,000 disciplinary actions taken since 2010. Since that time, the newspaper found that the board has actively licensed more than 260 nurses who have records of unsafe practice, including botched care that led to patient harm or even death.
"If there are gaps in the disciplinary process, we want to know about it and improve upon it if we can," Nursing Board Executive Director Shirley Brekken said Friday. "The board is always looking at its processes from a variety of perspectives, not only efficiencies, but effectiveness."
A Star Tribune review of board actions released on Wednesday found an additional 23 cases where the board allowed a nurse accused of patient harm or unsafe conduct to continue to practice. That includes Mary Clausen, who was found to be "deliberately indifferent" by a federal jury last December in the care of a former Ramsey County inmate who nearly died from tuberculosis.
The inmate, Marchello McCaster, lost 41 pounds in 54 days in custody, had to have the lining of his heart removed, and still has significant health problems, said McCaster's attorney, Bob Bennett.
About 150 others required treatment including hospitalization after contracting either latent or active tuberculosis, Bennett said.