ALJDEC - Licensing
25A-2022090629-NUR · State Board of Nursing · 2025-04-03
IN THE OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS
IN THE MATTER OF REGISTERED NURSE LICENSE NO. RN227424 ISSUED TO:
LOREN BRODERSEN BUSS,
A.K.A.: LOREN BRODERSEN,
RESPONDENT.
No. 25A-[number redacted]-NUR
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE DECISION
HEARING: February 27, 2025, with the record held open until March 14, 2025, for the sole purpose of allowing the court reporter’s transcript to be included in the record.
APPEARANCES: Assistant Attorney General Roberto Pulver appeared on behalf of the Arizona State Board of Nursing, (hereinafter “Board”). John D. Penner, Esq. appeared on behalf Loren Brodersen Buss, (hereinafter “Respondent”).
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE: Velva Moses-Thompson
EXHIBITS ADMITTED INTO EVIDENCE: The Board’s Exhibits 1 through 15 and Respondent’s Exhibits A through S.
_____________________________________________________________________
FINDINGS OF FACT
The Board is the authority for licensing and regulating the practice of nursing in the State of Arizona.
On December 13, 2024, the Board issued a Complaint and Notice of Hearing, setting the above-captioned matter for hearing on February 27, 2025 at the Office of Administrative Hearings in Phoenix, Arizona.
The Board presented the testimony of Bella Portuese who is a Senior Investigator for the Board. Respondent did not testify at the hearing.
On September 29, 2022, the Board received Respondent’s self-report stating that on September 20, 2022, she was charged with driving under the influence, (hereinafter “DUI”), and her Blood Alcohol Concentration, (hereinafter “BAC”), was .08% or more, in Chandler, Arizona.
Based on Respondent’s self-report the Board conducted an investigation.
On February 22, 2023, Ms. Portuese’s legal secretary notified Respondent in writing that the Board had begun an investigation based on Respondent’s self-report. The secretary sent a questionnaire to Respondent along with a disclosure form.
Respondent completed the questionnaire and submitted it to the Board along with a Chandler Police Department, (hereinafter “CPD”), report. The CPD report included a collision report along with a diagram of a car crash.
Respondent was involved in a three vehicle collision wherein Respondent hit another vehicle head-on.
On September 20, 2022, according to the Chandler Police Department, Chandler, Arizona, Report No. 2022-109650, at approximately 1626 hours, officers were dispatched to a three-vehicle collision involving a possibly impaired driver.
Upon arrival, officers observed a sports utility vehicle with a female occupant, Respondent, in the driver’s seat. Chandler Fire Department personnel were tending to Respondent as it appeared as though the sports utility vehicle had struck another vehicle head-on.
The officer contacted Respondent and noted that her speech was extremely slurred, she had a dazed/fixed look on her face, her eyes were bloodshot and watery, and there was an extremely strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emitting from her breath. The officer asked Respondent what had occurred in the collision and she did not provide an answer. The officer asked Respondent if she had anything to drink and she admitted to consuming two beers.
The officer administered the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus test and observed 4 clues of impairment. No other standard field sobriety tests could be conducted due to Respondent being treated by the Chandler Fire Department.
While Respondent was being treated she continually refused medical treatment and appeared to be suffering from mood swings. Respondent kept saying she was a registered nurse at Chandler Regional Medical Center and did not need to be treated.
Respondent was placed under arrest for suspicion of DUI and transported to the Chandler Police Department holding facility. Respondent consented to a blood test and at approximately 1712 hours, her blood was drawn. Respondent was cited for DUI, DUI with BAC .08% or more, and released. Respondent’s blood test analysis showed she had a BAC of .279%.
On September 20, 2022, in Case No. 22-P-899974, a Complaint was filed charging Respondent with DUI, DUI with BAC .08% or more, in the Chandler Municipal Court, Arizona.
On October 20, 2022, additional Complaints were filed charging Respondent with Extreme DUI with BAC .15% - .19%, and Extreme DUI with BAC .20% or more in the Chandler Municipal Court, Arizona.
On May 30, 2023, Respondent was convicted, pursuant to a guilty plea, of Extreme DUI – BAC .15% or more, a misdemeanor.
On or about September 26, 2023, Respondent’s attorney submitted a written statement to the Board on behalf of Respondent.
On October 6, 2023, Respondent told Board staff that she felt “woozy” while driving and at some point, she knew she should not be driving.
The Board reviewed the complaint and the information obtained during the investigation. The Board made a determination of reasonable cause and issued an Interim Order for an Evaluation to Respondent, pursuant to Arizona Revised Statutes, (hereinafter “A.R.S”), § 32-1664(F).
On February 14, 2024, Respondent underwent a comprehensive psychological evaluation to include a substance abuse evaluation (as ordered by the Board on January 18, 2024) by Board-approved evaluator, Jennifer Jones-Greenspon, Psy.D. Dr. Jones-Greenspon diagnosed Respondent with a relational disorder and offered but did not suggest any required treatment or therapy. Dr. Jones-Greenspon did not diagnose Respondent with a substance use disorder, and did not have concerns about Respondent’s ability to practice safely. Dr. Jones-Greenspon made the following recommendations:
Ms. Buss is recommended to demonstrate long-term sustained sobriety through random drug screens for a period of nine months.
a. This means she will need to be 100% compliant with drug testing for a period of nine months with no missed, positive or diluted drug screens while being compliant with call-in requirements.
b. If she submits a positive or diluted drug screen, she should be recommended to complete at least a standard outpatient substance abuse treatment program (SOP) in conjunction with drug testing as recommended above. She would benefit from psychotherapy to learn emotional regulation, coping, and interpersonal relationship skills to decrease distress and better cope with life’s difficulties. However, this is optional and not being required. 3. There are no concerns in regard to ability to practice safely based on the information available for the current evaluation.
On or about May 17, 2024, the Board considered the matter and voted to offer Respondent a Consent Agreement for a minimum 12-month probation, with terms and conditions. The vote contained a provision that if the Consent Agreement was not signed within 30 days, based upon the information in the Investigative Report, a Notice of Charges would be issued.
On June 12, 2024, Board Staff mailed the Consent Agreement to Respondent, which to date, Respondent has not signed and returned to the Board.
At hearing, Ms. Portuese explained that she received and reviewed drug tests completed by Respondent every month from August 2024 to January 2025, through a test center that the Board has not approved. Ms. Portuese explained that the drug tests provided by Respondent's attorney did not provide a chain of custody or an additional report that explained how the test center conducted the examinations. The Board must utilize a laboratory that is certified to its standards. The Board must utilize a laboratory that is certified to its standards. Ms. Portuese explained that the third-party program that the Board uses ensures that the tests are authenticated. Ms. Portuese explained that there is a chain of custody through the Board's program, and the exams are issued randomly, so the nurse does not know when the lab will administer a test.
At hearing, the Board requested that the tribunal issue an order recommending probation for Respondent. Respondent contended that the tribunal issue nothing more than a letter of concern or censure.
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 Ms. Buss’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 Board has established by a preponderance of the evidence, as set forth previously in findings of fact 4 through 20, that Respondent committed unprofessional conduct as defined by A.R.S. § 32-1601(27) (d) and (j); A.A.C. R4-19-403 (1) and (2).
Because Respondent has committed unprofessional conduct, the Board has authority to discipline her registered nurse license. A.R.S. § 32-1663(D); and A.R.S. § 32-1664(P).
The evidence presented at hearing shows that the Board’s evaluator recommended that Respondent “demonstrate long-term sustained sobriety through random drug screens for a period of nine months.” The implementation of random drug testing at a laboratory serves the public by enabling the board to confirm sobriety and by allowing the Board to take immediate action if Respondent fails to comply with the drug screening requirement. Considering the facts and circumstances of this matter, it is recommended that registered nurse license number RN227424 be placed on probation with a requirement to participate in a drug screening program approved by the Board.
RECOMMENDED ORDER
Based on the foregoing, the Administrative Law Judge recommends that Loren Brodersen Buss’s license number RN227424 shall be placed on probation for a period of twelve months, on the condition that Loren Brodersen Buss participate in a random drug screening program approved by the Board, and under additional terms and conditions that the Board finds to be appropriate.
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, April 3, 2025.
/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
Roberto Pulver
Office of the Attorney General
Licensing & Enforcement Section
[email redacted]
[email redacted]
John D. Penner, Esq.
[email redacted]
By: OAH Staff