ALJDEC decisions subject to certification as final

20A-1604030-NUR · State Board of Nursing · 2020-01-07

IN THE OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

IN THE MATTER OF REGISTERED NURSE LICENSE NO. RN176739 (Expired 4/1/17)

ISSUED TO:

CATHERINE C MCMAHON

AKA: CAROL CATHERINE MCMAHON;

AKA: CAROL CATHERINE CANNON

AKA: CAROL PFLIEGER SHOOK

AKA: CAROL CATHERINE SHOOK

AKA: CAROL PFLIEGER

AKA: CATHERINE SHOOK

RESPONDENT

No. 20A-1604030-NUR

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE DECISION

HEARING: November 27, 2019 with the record held open until December 12, 2019.

APPEARANCES: The Arizona State Board of Nursing was represented by Assistant Attorney General Elizabeth Campbell. Respondent Catherine C. McMahon was not present at the hearing.

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE: Antara Nath Rivera

_____________________________________________________________________

FINDINGS OF FACT

The Arizona State Board of Nursing (Board) has the authority to regulate and control the practice of nursing in the State of Arizona, pursuant to Sections §§ 32-1606, 1663, and 1664 of the Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S.). The Board also has the authority to impose disciplinary sanctions against the holders of nursing licenses for violations of the Nurse Practice Act, A.R.S. §§ 32-1601-1667.

Catherine C. McMahon (Respondent) holds Board-issued RN License No. RN176739 (initially issued in December 2012) in the State of Arizona.

On or about April 13, 2016, the Idaho State Board of Nursing notified the Board that Respondent may have mental health issues that could negatively impact her ability to safely practice as a nurse.

On or about April 29, 2016, in an interview with the Board, Respondent reported she was receiving treatment for a mental health condition.

On or about May 9, 2016, the Board received written notice from Respondent which noted that her last two jobs ended in termination. Respondent also acknowledged she suffered from a mental health condition.

Up to and including September 24, 2019, Respondent exhibited tangential communication and disorganized and delusional thought processes in her written and verbal communication with Board Staff.

On an undisclosed date, Respondent reported to the Board that she had not been employed as a nurse since February 2014.

On or about November 19, 2019, the Board issued a Complaint, Notice of Hearing, and Summary Suspension Hearing alleging that cause existed to discipline Respondent’s Board-issued RN License No. RN176739 under A.R.S. § 32-1601 through 1669, and Arizona Administrative Code (A.A.C.) R4-19-101 to R-19-815.

The Board alleged that Respondent committed the following violations:

A.R.S. § 32-1601(26)(d)(any conduct or practice that is or might be harmful or dangerous to the health of a patient or the public) and is grounds for disciplinary action pursuant to A.R.S. § 32-1663 and § 32-1664.

A.R.S. § 32-1601(26)(e)(Being mentally incompetent or physically unsafe to a degree that is or might be harmful or dangerous to the health of a patient or the public) and is grounds for disciplinary action pursuant to A.R.S. § 32-1663 and § 32-1664.

The Board referred the matter to the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH), an independent agency, for an evidentiary hearing. A hearing was scheduled to convene on November 27, 2019. Respondent failed to appear.

HEARING EVIDENCE

The Board presented witness Diane Caruso, RN, advanced practice consultant and investigator for the Board. Nurse Caruso testified that in 2014, Respondent’s daughter contacted the Idaho State Board of Nursing seeking help for Respondent and to notify it that Respondent should not practice due to failing mental health.

On or about April 13, 2016, the Idaho State Board of Nursing notified The Board was notified of this because Respondent had a Board-issued RN License since 2012.

On or about April 29, 2016, the Board’s investigator, Stephanie Chambers, learned that Respondent moved to Illinois and was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Ms. Chambers sent Respondent an investigative questionnaire to be completed by May 22, 2016.

On or about May 9, 2016, the Board received a comprehensive and completed questionnaire from Respondent. Nurse Caruso testified that Respondent was arrested for simple battery and underwent a mental health assessment as part of her sentence. Nurse Caruso opined that Respondent self-diagnosed herself because she hand wrote “likely dissociative disorder=depression” next to box that was circled “[n]urse’s mental health issues.”

On or about August 22, 2019, Nurse Caruso attempted to interview Respondent. Nurse Caruso and Respondent exchanged multiple emails regarding a date and time to talk. Respondent’s emails were non responsive to setting a date and time. In her emails, Respondent attached an article on Ketamine, an article of a mother losing her toes, and a picture of Bob Barker from the Price is Right television show.

On or about September 9, 2019, Nurse Caruso sent Respondent a proposed consent agreement to voluntarily surrender her license. In response to the proposed consent agreement, Respondent emailed an incoherent letter and alleged that no cause of action existed by the Board and that no history of mental illness existed. Respondent attached the Supreme Court of Texas case, In re Halliburton Company and Brown & Root Energy Services, Realtors. This was not relevant to the consent agreement to voluntarily surrender her nursing license.

On or about November 14, 2019, the Board met to consider the complaint filed against Respondent. The Board issued its Findings of Public Emergency and Order of Summary Suspension and summarily suspended Respondent’s nursing license.

On or about November 26, 2019, Respondent emailed the Board another incoherent response that addressed British politics and the Uniform Code of Military Justice but not the summary suspension.

Nurse Caruso testified that it was important for nurses to be able to communicate effectively, execute doctor’s orders efficiently, and make rational sense. Nurse Caruso opined that poor mental health conditions, in nurses, could pose patient safety problems if left untreated. Per Nurse Caruso, all of Respondent’s communications were incoherent and clearly indicated that Respondent suffered from mental health complications. Thus, the Board approved summary suspension must be upheld and Respondent’s nursing license must be revoked.

CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

This matter lies within the Board’s jurisdiction under A.R.S. §§ 32-1606(B)(10), 32-1663, 32-1664, and 41-1092.11(B) to regulate and control the licensure and practice of nursing in the State of Arizona. Pursuant to A.R.S. §§ 32-1601 to 1669 and A.A.C. R4-19-101 to 815 the Board has authority to impose disciplinary sanctions for violations of the Nurse Practice Act.

The Complaint, Notice of Public Hearing, and Summary Suspension Hearing that the Board emailed and mailed to Respondent at her address of record was reasonable, and Respondent is deemed to have received notice of the hearing. See A.R.S. §§ 41-1092.04, 41-1061(A).

The Board bears the burden of proof and must establish cause to penalize Respondent’s registered nurse’s license by a preponderance of the evidence. See A.R.S. § 41-1092.07(G)(2); A.A.C. R2-19-119(A) and (B)(1), see also Vazanno v. Superior Court, 74 Ariz. 369, 372, 249 P.2d 837 (1952).

“A preponderance of the evidence is such proof as convinces the trier of fact that the contention is more probably true than not.” Morris K. Udall, Arizona Law of Evidence § 5 (1960). A preponderance of the evidence is “evidence which is of greater weight or more convincing than evidence which is offered in opposition to it; that is, evidence which as a whole shows that the fact sought to be proved is more probable than not.” Black’s Law Dictionary 1120 (8th ed. 2004).

The evidence showed that the Board was alerted by the Idaho State Board of Nursing that Respondent may have mental health issues. Respondent admitted to receiving treatment for a mental health condition. Throughout the Board’s investigation, Respondent corresponded with the Board via email. Respondent’s emails were incoherent and not relevant to the issues discussed.

The Board established, by a preponderance of the evidence, that Respondent engaged in the conduct alleged in the Complaint, Notice of Public Hearing, and Summary Suspension Hearing.

In light of the risk of potential harm and danger to patients as a result of Respondent’s mental health conditions and violations of the Nurse Practice Act, the Board established cause to impose a disciplinary sanction against Respondent’s license under A.R.S. § 32-1601(26)(d) and § 32-1601(26)(e).

RECOMMENDED ORDER

Based on the foregoing, the Administrative Law Judge affirms the summary suspension and recommends that the Board revoke Registered Nurse License No. 176739 previously issued to Respondent Catherine C. McMahon.

In the event of certification of the Administrative Law Judge Decision by the Director of the Office of Administrative Hearings, the effective date of the Order will be five days from the date of that certification.

Done this day, January 7, 2020.

/s/ Antara Nath Rivera

Administrative Law Judge

Transmitted electronically to:

Joey Ridenour, RN, MN, Executive Director

State Board of Nursing

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