According to hospital officials, a nurse in Florida was fired for posting photos on social media of a baby with a birth defect.
Officials from the Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami were first informed of the incident by Lidia Amoretti (a spokesperson for the hospital), in an email Saturday.
Sierra Samuels, a neonatal intensive-care unit nurse, shared photos of a newborn suffering from gastroschisis, a birth defect that causes the baby’s intestines and abdominal wall to protrude.
Samuels was immediately placed on administrative leave by hospital officials in the midst of an investigation into privacy violations. Samuels was terminated on September 15th from her position at the hospital.
Posting photos of patients without permission is often considered a violation to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, (HIPAA). This law is intended to protect individuals' medical records and other health information.
Samuels' photos were shared on social media with the captions: My night was going well then boom! and Your intestinal tracts posed (sic!) to be inside baby! According to WFOR-TV which first reported the story, #gastroschisis.
