Utah-type incident not likely at MUSC

You wake up at 5 a.m. and head out in the darkness for your shift. Never in a million years would you think you might leave the hospital that afternoon in handcuffs, accused of obstructing justice.

Hospital care team members take their jobs very seriously. They put patients and families first every day. Even when there’s a hurricane in the Atlantic or a sick child at home, patients’ needs almost always come ahead of their own. That’s the job.

But what happens when the best interests of a patient and the law of the land collide? That exact situation played out in front of a national audience on Sept.1, when a nurse at the University of Utah Hospital's burn unit in Salt Lake City stood her ground, not allowing a warrantless detective to draw blood from an unconscious patient who had been involved in a head-on collision.

In a moment that stunned the nation, the nurse was handcuffed and dragged out of the hospital for not complying with the officer’s wishes.

Could that situation happen at MUSC? The short answer is no.

MUSC has both its own armed police force, led by a 25-year veteran of the New York Police Force who served as commanding officer of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force, as well as hospital security, which is headed by a retired Charleston Police Department captain with 23 years of service. Beyond the tightly organized and well-coordinated activities of both departments, both federal and state laws would preclude that situation from ever transpiring at MUSC.

Kevin Kerley, chief of MUSC’s Department of Public Safety, said there are important ramifications from what happened in Utah. “This would not have happened at MUSC. Not only has the Supreme Court ruled that any blood drawn, other than consensual, requires a search warrant, but MUSC has hospital security and public safety in the Emergency Department 24/7, so they would be fully engaged when an agency comes in with a warrant. We would never allow that situation to happen, where a nurse or staff member was dragged out in handcuffs,” he said.

The Utah nurse, with the backing of hospital administration, would not allow the blood to be taken without a warrant or consent from the patient. But that in no way dissuaded the officer. The video of the incident shows the detective threatening the nurse, saying, “I either go away with blood in vials or body in tow.”  

“Common sense should have prevailed here. There was no reason to drag that nurse out in handcuffs,” Kerley said. “While it appears that one other officer was concerned about the validity of the arrest he made, no effort was made to control the arresting officer.”

MUSC Health Chief Security Officer Kevin Boyd agreed. “That is correct, and it’s important to recognize this was one rogue officer — a ‘my way or no way’ guy — who finally got caught. This is not a systemic problem at the Utah Police Department or in South Carolina or anywhere. You never hear of anyone locking up a clinician for not giving them what they want. He was just one of those outliers in law enforcement. Thank goodness there were body cameras, so people could really see what was going on.”

Boyd further underscored Kerley’s point. “We would have verified the warrant and made sure it was authentic. If they didn’t have one — well, then that’s the end of the conversation. ‘Gentlemen, come back when you have a warrant,’ is what they would have been told.”

Matt Wain, MUSC Health chief operating officer, is using the Utah case as a chance to review MUSC’s protocols.

“That was difficult to watch,” Wain said of the video. “I agree with Chiefs Kerley and Boyd — I don’t think this would ever happen here. One of the things we recognize is the need for our bedside care, our security and our public safety to work seamlessly together. We’ve invested a significant amount of training so there’s appropriate level of handoff among those caring for patients and families when a crisis arises,” Wain said.

“I believe that enables us to appropriately respond in crisis patient situations. I also believe we have tremendous professionalism with MUSC Health, including our nursing, which has been recognized nationally for excellence. I have the utmost confidence in our care team’s ability to handle situations appropriately and for our organization to support those officers or bedside care professionals with the decisions they make in moments of crisis.”

Amid a wave of growing criticism, nurses around the country are following the story intently, and the American Nurses Association demanded immediate action be taken against the arresting officer. “What occurred is simply outrageous and unacceptable,” ANA president and former MUSC Chief Nursing Officer Pam Cipriano wrote in an emailed statement. “Nurse Wubbels did everything right.”

Jerry Mansfield, Ph.D., RN, MUSC Health executive chief nursing officer and chief patient experience officer, shares her assertion. “The first thing that should have happened was that security should have been called,” he said.

“This is an important issue, one at the forefront of the national stage. People are reading about it in papers and on Facebook, and it has become a platform for people to make statements about patient care. Really, serving as a patient advocate is first and foremost a nurse’s responsibility, and that’s what the nurse in Utah was doing. Somehow, someway it got out of hand. Our people know to notify the appropriate people internally before something like that escalates in the wrong direction.”

It’s clear to frontline staff, Mansfield said, that calling for assistance is the right thing to do any time there is something alarming or suspicious. “We have a wonderful security team here, and we have a very positive relationship. Plus, there are always hospital administrators on call and house supervisors as well — any and all of them would be great if a nurse is feeling uncomfortable and needs to bring that to someone’s attention.”

Whether it’s related to patient care or visitors or concerns about contraband in the environment, Mansfield said, his people have no hesitation calling the proper authorities. “And in light of this recent situation, if someone shows up and says they are here to do something, always double check with our own internal security to make sure it’s true.”

Boyd said he and his team work with the nurses and other clinicians in the best interest of their patients.

“We do these types of things every day,” he said. “Whether it’s a DUI, a child custody situation, assessing paperwork to ensure things are legitimate — whatever is needed — it runs the gamut. A situation like this would never happen at MUSC. It shouldn’t happen anywhere.” 

To report an emergency or suspicious activity, call Public Safety at 843-792-4196.