ALJDEC - Licensing
24A-2021080309-NUR · State Board of Nursing · 2024-09-09
IN THE OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS
IN THE MATTER OF THE REGISTERED NURSE LICENSE NO. RN215162 AND PRACTICAL LICENSE NO. LP046768 ISSUED TO:
TERRIE MARIA FREDERICK,
A.K.A. THERESE M. FREDERICK, TERRIE MARIA VANBRUNT, TERRIE MARIA FACTOR, TERRIE MARIA BURGOA, TERRIE MARIA JOHNSON
RESPONDENT
No. 24A-[number redacted]-NUR
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE DECISION
HEARING: July 29, 2024 with the record held open until August 19, 2024, for the sole purpose of allowing the court reporter’s transcript to be included in the record.
APPEARANCES: Terrie Maria Frederick (Respondent) represented herself. Assistant Attorney General Deborah Abbey represented the Arizona State Board of Nursing (Board).
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE: Velva Moses-Thompson
EXHIBITS ADMITTED INTO EVIDENCE: Board’s Exhibits 1 through 19. Respondent’s Exhibits A and B.
_____________________________________________________________________
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. Respondent holds Board issued registered nurse license number RN215162, and practical nurse license number LP046768.
2. On or about August 18, 2021, the Board received a complaint from a source who wishes to remain anonymous but is known to the Board. The source alleged that on August 10, 2021, while working as a registered nurse (RN) at Parker Indian Health Center (PIHC) in Parker, Arizona, Respondent failed to document and assess Patient G.J. properly before returning Patient G.J. to the emergency department (ED) after the hospitalist had accepted Patient G.J. as a transfer from the ED to an inpatient ward. Based upon this information, the Board conducted an investigation. This allegation is unsubstantiated.
3. On or about September 23, 2021, the Board received a complaint from a sources who wishes to remain anonymous but is known to the Board, who alleged that on September 21, 2021, while working as an RN at PIHC in Parker, Arizona, Respondent used lidocaine (local anesthetic used to numb tissue), prior to a dressing change, on Patient G.P. without an order from PIHC. According to the complaint, “[Patient G.P.] stated that he told [Respondent] that lidocaine was only used when he goes to the wound care clinic in Havasu for wound debridement with the doctor.” See Exhibit 2, Bates 021.
4. On or about October 27, 2022, while working as an RN at PIHC, Respondent admitted in her written response to the Board that she applied lidocaine (anesthetic) into and around Patient G.P.’s wound prior to performing a wound vac dressing change. There was no provider order to use lidocaine during the dressing change. It is outside the scope of an RN to administer any medication to a patient without a provider’s order.
5. On or about February 9, 2023, the Board received an anonymous complaint that alleged while working as an RN at PIHC in Parker, Arizona, Respondent presented to work under the influence of illegal substances.
6. On or about February 8, 2023, while working as an RN at PIHC, Respondent would allegedly leave the unit and come back with smell of smoke, runny nose and dilated pupils, and demonstrated behaviors such as jitteriness, jumpy, and paranoia. Respondent was asked to submit a 14-panel hair/nail drug test, to which Respondent replied, “Only with a court order”. Respondent was sent an Executive Director Interim Order for a drug test and she replied that she, “Would comply with the request she received from the Board after she obtained legal representation”. Respondent has not complied with the drug test or contacted the Board again.
7. On or about May 11, 2023, Respondent wrote in an email to Board staff that she had suffered a “mental breakdown (crisis)”. Respondent acknowledged in an email to Board staff that, “My primary care provider at the request of Southwest Behavioral Health, due to a mental breakdown (crisis,) has removed me from work for 1 year due to stress, emotional distress, anxiety, and depression.”
8. On or about July 21, 2023, the Board considered the matter and voted to issue and Interim Order for a 14-panel hair/ nail drug test through Recovery Trek, a Board approved testing coordinator to be completed within 10 days and a comprehensive psychological evaluation including a substance abuse evaluation to be completed by a Board approved licensed psychologist, and to include any additional testing deemed necessary by the evaluator, to be completed within 45 days. The vote contained a provision that if the Interim Order is not completed, based upon the information in the investigative report, a Notice of Charges would be issued.
9. On July 25, 2023, Board Staff mailed the Interim Order to Respondent, which to date, Respondent has not complied with the Interim Order.
10. On June 6, 2024, the Board issued a Complaint and Notice of Hearing setting the matter for hearing on July 29, 2024. The Notice of Hearing provided that the issue set for determination is whether, “grounds exist to take disciplinary action, including suspension or revocation against Terrie Maria Frederick, registered nurse license number RN215162 and practical nurse license number LP046768 to perform as a nurse in the State of Arizona.”
11. A hearing was held on July 29, 2024.
12. At hearing, the Board presented the testimony of Michelina Scazzone, the Board’s Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Consultant. Respondent testified on her own behalf.
13. At hearing, Respondent alleged that there was an order to use lidocaine on Patient G.H. at PIHC. In support of her case, Respondent referred to an order to use lidocaine with debridement at a wound care center. However, the order did not provide for the use of lidocaine with a wound dressing change. Respondent nor any other nurses were performing debridement.
14. Respondent explained that that she requested to be withdrawn from work because she would not take care of a patient if she felt that she could not focus or perform her job appropriately. Respondent stated that she has not worked in a year.
15. Respondent also contended that she underwent a drug test through her employer and the test results were negative. However, Respondent refused to submit to a drug test that was ordered by the Board. In fact, Respondent stated at hearing, “I don't trust [the Board’s] drug testing sites.” See the Transcript, pg. 111. Respondent further stated at the hearing, “I don’t trust the Board.....I don’t trust [the Board’s] evaluation.” See id.
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
This matter lies within the Board’s jurisdiction under Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 32-1606.
The Board bears the burden of persuasion to establish cause to penalize Mr. Marquez’s registered nurse license. Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 41-1092.07(G)(2);
The Board’s burden is 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 facts, as set forth previously, establish that Respondent committed unprofessional conduct as defined by Ariz. Rev. Stat. section 32-1601(27)(d),(e),(i), and (j); A.A.C. R4-19-403(1)(a),(7),(9),(12),(31).
Because Respondent has committed unprofessional conduct, the Board has authority to revoke her registered nurse license and her practical nurse license. Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 32-1663(D); and § 32-1664(O).
Considering the facts and circumstances of this matter, it is recommended
that registered nurse license number RN215162 and practical nurse license number LP046768 held by Respondent be revoked.
RECOMMENDED ORDER
Based on the foregoing, the Administrative Law Judge recommends that the Board revoke Terrie Maria Frederick’s registered nurse license number RN215162.
It is further recommended that the Board revoke Terrie Maria Frederick’s practical nurse license number LP046768.
Pursuant to A.R.S. § 41-1092.08(I), the licensee may accept the Administrative Law Judge Decision by advising the Office of Administrative Hearings in writing not more than ten (10) days after receiving the decision. If the licensee accepts the Administrative Law Judge Decision, the decision shall be certified as the final decision by the Office of Administrative Hearings.
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 forty (40) days from the date of that certification.
Done this day, September 9, 2024.
/s/ Velva Moses-Thompson
Administrative Law Judge
Transmitted by either mail, e-mail, or facsimile to:
Joey Ridenour, RN, MN, Executive Director
State Board of Nursing
Deborah Abbey
Office of the Attorney General
[email redacted]
[email redacted]
Terrie Maria Frederick
[email redacted]
By: OAH Staff