ALJDEC decisions subject to certification as final
22A-2021070119-NUR · State Board of Nursing · 2022-04-13
IN THE OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS
IN THE MATTER OF THE REGISTERED
NURSE LICENSE NO. RN075194
ISSUED TO:
CHRISTINE MARIE ILLECK,
AKA: CHRIS ILLECK BERNSTEIN,
RESPONDENT
No. 22A-[number redacted]-NUR
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE
DECISION
HEARING: February 15, 2022
APPEARANCES: No one appeared for Respondent; Elizabeth Campbell, Esq. for 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. Ariz. Rev. Stat. §§ 32-1606, 32-1663, 32-1664.
On December 22, 2021, the Board issued a “Complaint and Notice of Hearing” setting the above-captioned matter for hearing at 9:00 a.m. February 15, 2022 at the Office of Administrative Hearings in Phoenix, Arizona.
Respondent Christine Marie Illeck did not appear at the scheduled hearing time and the matter was convened in her absence at about 9:19 a.m.
The Board presented the testimony of nurse practice consultant Ruth Kish, RN and senior investigator Brent Sutter.
Ms. Illeck holds license number RN075194 issued by the Board.
Ms. Illeck entered a Consent Agreement with the Board that was effective on May 7, 2019. Among the requirements of that agreement are that Ms. Illeck follow the standards of care and that she follow certain conditions if working out of the state.
From January 2019 through September 10, 2019, Ms. Illeck was employed as a registered nurse at the Center for Advanced Surgery in Gilbert.
While employed at the Center, Ms. Illeck received several times received counseling related to her performance.
While working at the Center, Ms. Illeck left an I-V catheter in a patient’s bed, which created a risk of infection by a contaminated sharp.
While working at the Center, Ms. Illeck failed to complete a pregnancy check on a patient having gynecologic surgery. Because such surgery could negatively affect any unborn child, this was a violation of the standard of care.
On September 9, 2019, while working at the Center Ms. Illeck failed to wear gloves while providing patient care, which is a violation of the standard of care. The patient’s family reported during that same encounter, Ms. Illeck failed to wash her hands after taking gum from her mouth and that Ms. Illeck called the patient “sista,” which offended the family.
The standard of care requires nurses to treat patients in a respectful manner.
Ms. Illeck did not insure that the Board received the disciplinary information related to her work at the Center, which she was required to do by the Consent Agreement.
The Consent Agreement requires Ms. Illeck to provide any out-of-state facility a copy of the Consent Order before accepting employment, to get the facility’s written consent, and that she then obtain the Board’s consent through an amendment to the Consent Agreement.
From October 27, 2020 through December 7, 2020, Ms. Illeck worked as a registered nurse at Rehoboth McKinley Christian Health Care Services in Gallup New Mexico.
Although Ms. Illeck informed the Board of her intention to gain employment in New Mexico, she did not inform Rehoboth that she was on probation in Arizona, she did not provide Rehoboth with a copy of the Consent Agreement, and she never applied to have the Consent Agreement amended to allow her to work in New Mexico.
Rehoboth’s Director of Nursing informed the Board that it would not have hired her had it known that she was on probation. Ms. Illeck was terminated from Rehoboth on December 7, 2020.
Under the Consent Agreement, Ms. Illeck was required to provide the Board notice that she had been terminated from Rehoboth within seven days. Ms. Illeck did not provide such notice in a timely manner.
Considering Ms. Illeck’s failure to comply with the Consent Agreement and her failure to appear at the hearing, the Board requests that her 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 Board has jurisdiction over the practice of nursing in Arizona. Ariz. Rev. Stat. §§ 32-1606, 32-1663, 32-1664.
The preponderance of the evidence shows that Ms. Illeck failed to comply with the Consent Agreement, which is a violation of Ariz. Rev. Stat. sections 32-1601(26)(i), (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. Illeck violated Ariz. Admin. Code section 4-19-403(9) by failing to wear gloves, failing to wash her hands, by leaving an IV catheter in a patient’s bed, by failing to perform a pregnancy check on a patient, and by being disrespectful to a patient’s family, which is unprofessional conduct under Ariz. Rev. Stat. sections 32-1601(26)(d) and (26)(j).
The Board also alleges that Ms. Illeck violated Ariz. Admin. Code section 4-19-403(31) (“Practicing in any other manner that gives the Board reasonable cause to believe the health of a patient or the public may be harmed”), but did not prove that allegation because it presented no evidence of wrong-doing that is not included within the statutes and rules previously cited.
Because Ms. Illeck 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, particularly Ms. Illeck’s failure to appear at the hearing, it is recommended that Ms. Illeck’s Arizona registered nurse license number RN075194 be revoked.
RECOMMENDED ORDER
IT IS ORDERED that Christine Marie Illeck’s Arizona license number RN075194 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.
-54864001
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-137160-45720000Done this day, April 13, 2022.
/s/ Thomas Shedden
Thomas Shedden
Administrative Law Judge
Transmitted electronically to:
Joey Ridenour, RN, MN, Executive Director
State Board of Nursing
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-137160-45720000By Miranda Alvarez
Legal Secretary