ALJDEC decisions subject to certification as final

20A-201911099-NUR · State Board of Nursing · 2020-07-17

IN THE OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

IN THE MATTER OF REGISTERED NURSE LICENSE NO. RN140654

ISSUED TO:

JENNIFER GRACE SCOTT,

AKA: Jennifer Grace Everton,

RESPONDENT.

No. 20A-[number redacted]-NUR

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE

DECISION

HEARING: June 22, 2020

APPEARANCES: No one appeared for Respondent; Elizabeth Campbell, Esq. for the Board of Nursing

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE: Thomas Shedden

FINDINGS OF FACT

The Arizona State Board of Nursing (“Board”) is the authority for licensing and regulating the practice of nursing in the State of Arizona.

On June 12, 2020, the Board issued a “Complaint and Notice of Hearing, Summary Suspension, Expedited Hearing” setting the above-captioned matter for hearing at 1:00 p.m. June 22, 2020 at the Office of Administrative Hearings in Phoenix, Arizona.

Respondent Jennifer Grace Scott did not appear at the scheduled hearing time and the matter was convened in her absence at about 1:18 p.m.

Ms. Scott holds registered nurse license number RN140654 issued by the Board. The Board summarily suspended Ms. Scott’s license at a Board meeting held on May 28, 2020.

The Board alleges that Ms. Scott has committed acts of unprofessional conduct within the meaning of the applicable statutes and rules.

Ms. Scott has received substance abuse treatment in the past.

On April 1, 2018, Ms. Scott took old medication that resulted in her being intubated in the ICU for a couple of days.

On November 6, 2019, the Board received from Abrazo Central Campus Hospital a complaint about Ms. Scott.

On September 29, 2019, Ms. Scott was attending an orientation session on her first shift at the hospital. Ms. Scott was observed to be sleepy and to be sweating heavily. Several staff members reported that Ms. Scott might be impaired and she was taken to the health supervisor’s office.

The health supervisor and the chief nursing officer determined that it was appropriate for Ms. Scott to undergo a fitness-for-duty urine drug screen.

Because Ms. Scott was expressing suicidal thoughts, an emergency room physician and off-duty police offered were summoned

A pill that was identified as OxyContin fell out of her pocket.

Ms. Scott was taken to the emergency department and was subsequently admitted to the in-patient psychiatric unit.

Ms. Scott was discharged from the emergency department into a medical plan and transitioned to UPC, which is a clinic for unstable patients and that provides acute care.

Ms. Scott was placed under court-ordered evaluation as a danger to herself. She was admitted to Valleywise Health on October 1, 2019.

On October 11, 2019, Ms. Scott was placed on court-ordered treatment.

Ms. Scott was away from Valleywise for a family visit on October 16, 2019, when she was found to be minimally responsive and emergently taken to one of Banner’s facilities for evaluation. She tested positive for opioids.

Ms. Scott was discharged from Valleywise on October 21, 2019, at which time her diagnoses included cluster B personality disorder, bipolar disorder the current episode manic without psychotic features, moderate benzo use disorder and opioid use disorder. Treatment recommendations were for medication and outpatient psychiatry for medication and symptom control.

On September 29, 2019, while at Abrazo, Ms. Scott had in her possession Adderall, Oxycodone and Klonopin. Klonopin is a brand name for clonazepam, which is a benzodiazepine.

The urine drug screen that Ms. Scott underwent while at Abrazo on September 29, 2019, was positive for opiates, which is what oxycodone is.

Opiates and benzodiazepines potentiate one another.

Between January and August 2019, Ms. Scott did have a prescription for clonazepam. Ms. Scott did have, or has had, a prescription for her ADHD, but it was not for Adderall and she did not have a prescription for Adderall in September 2019.

In February 2019, Ms. Scott did receive a prescription for twelve oxycodone pills. The Board’s Associate Director Janeen Dahn, Ph.D., RN, FNP-C, explained that despite the prescription, this was a concern because either Ms. Scott was using the prescribed pills for something other than what they were prescribed for, or she had received additional pills.

A nurse may not be impaired while on duty regardless of whether she has a prescription for the drug causing the impairment.

Thought a letter dated November 12, 2019, Abrazo informed Ms. Scott that it had been trying to contact her without success. Abrazo considered Ms. Scott to have voluntarily resigned on December 6, 2019.

As part of its investigation, on or about December 4, 2019, the Board sent to Ms. Scott an investigative questionnaire to which she was required to respond by January 3, 2020. As of the hearing date, Ms. Scott had not responded to the questionnaire.

The Board requested that Ms. Scott’s license be revoked.

CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

The Board bears the burden of persuasion. Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 41-1092.07(G)(2).

The standard of proof on all issues is that of a preponderance of the evidence. Ariz. Admin. Code § R2-19-119.

A preponderance of the evidence is:

The greater weight of the evidence, not necessarily established by the greater number of witnesses testifying to a fact but by evidence that has the most convincing force; superior evidentiary weight that, though not sufficient to free the mind wholly from all reasonable doubt, is still sufficient to incline a fair and impartial mind to one side of the issue rather than the other.

Black’s Law Dictionary 1373 (10th ed. 2014).

The preponderance of the evidence shows that Ms. Scott has engaged in pattern of using or being under the influence of drugs to the extent that her judgment might be impaired and her nursing practice detrimentally affected, which is a violation of Ariz. Admin. Code section 4-19-403(17) and unprofessional conduct under Ariz. Rev. Stat. sections 32-1601(26)(d) (conduct that is, or might be, harmful or dangerous to the health of a patient or the public) and (26)(j)(violation of a statute or rule).

The preponderance of the evidence shows that Ms. Scott is 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, which is unprofessional conduct as defined in Ariz. Rev. Stat. section 32-1601(26)(e).

The preponderance of the evidence shows that Ms. Scott obtained, possessed, and used controlled substances without having a valid prescription in violation of criminal law, which is a violation of Ariz. Admin. Code section 4-19-403(17) and unprofessional conduct under Ariz. Rev. Stat. sections 32-1601(26)(d) (conduct that is, or might be, harmful or dangerous to the health of a patient or the public) and (26)(j)(violation of a statute or rule).

The preponderance of the evidence shows that Ms. Scott failed to answer the Board’s questionnaire, which is a violation of Ariz. Admin. Code section 4-19-403(25)(a) and unprofessional conduct under Ariz. Rev. Stat. sections 32-1601(26)(d) (conduct that is, or might be, harmful or dangerous to the health of a patient or the public) and (26)(j)(violation of a statute or rule).

Ms. Scott’s actions while at Abrazo on September 28, 2019 were sufficient to give the Board reasonable cause to believe the health of a patient or the public may be harmed, which is a violation of Ariz. Admin. Code section 4-19-403(31) and unprofessional conduct under Ariz. Rev. Stat. sections 32-1601(26)(d) (conduct that is, or might be, harmful or dangerous to the health of a patient or the public) and (26)(j)(violation of a statute or rule).

The preponderance of the evidence shows that Ms. Scott has repeatedly violated the Board’s statutes and rules, which is unprofessional conduct as defined in Ariz. Rev. Stat. section 32-1601(26)(g).

The preponderance of the evidence shows that it was appropriate for the Board to have summarily suspended Ms. Scott’s license.

Because Ms. Scott has committed unprofessional conduct, the Board has authority to discipline her registered nurse license. Ariz. Rev. Stat. §§ 32-1663 and 32-1664.

Considering the facts and circumstances of this matter, including Ms. Scott’s failure to appear at the hearing, it is recommended that Ms. Scott’s registered nurse license number RN140654 be revoked.

RECOMMENDED ORDER

IT IS ORDERED that Jennifer Grace Scott’s registered nurse license number RN140654 is revoked.

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.

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-137160-45720000Done this day, July 17, 2020.

/s/ Thomas Shedden

Thomas Shedden

Administrative Law Judge

Transmitted electronically to:

Joey Ridenour, RN, MN, Executive Director

State Board of Nursing

-54864001

001

-137160-45720000