A Florida nurse has been fired this week after posting graphic images of a baby with a birth defect in the neonatal intensive care unit, according to reports.
Nurse fired after posting photos of baby with birth defect
Sierra Samuels was fired Thursday from Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami after a weeks-long investigation for sharing photos of a baby with a condition in which the intestines move outside the body.
Samuels shared two photos on her Instagram story from inside the NICU earlier this month, according to the broadcasters.
One of the images had the caption, “My night was great and then boom!” The next photo was of the child. “Your bowels look like they’re in, not out, baby!” the nurse allegedly wrote. She also included the hashtag “gastroschisis.”
Gastroschisis is a birth defect that causes a baby’s intestines to protrude through a hole next to the belly button, making the organs visible on the outside of the body, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The hospital issued a statement to WSVN and WFOR earlier this month and announced that Samuels was on administrative leave. “As soon as we learned of this possible violation, we immediately placed this employee on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.”
“Protecting the privacy of our patients is always a top priority at Jackson Health System. Any potential privacy violation is taken seriously and investigated thoroughly,” a spokesperson said.
The hospital also told the station that the child’s mother was notified of the privacy violation.
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