Inclusion Daily Express -- Governor Supports Nurse On Schiavo Statements

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Governor Supports Nurse On Schiavo Statements
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
July 20, 2006

ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA--Governor Jeb Bush has asked a disciplinary board to drop a complaint against a registered nurse who had disclosed information about Terri Schiavo's medical condition.

Carla Sauer-Iyer, 42, was a licensed practical nurse at Palm Garden nursing home where Schiavo was a patient in 1995 and 1996. Last year, Sauer-Iyer told CNN that Schiavo interacted with her, laughed at her jokes, and said "mommy", "help me", and "pain".

The Florida Health Department in May said that Sauer-Iyer's public comments disclosed confidential patient information in violation of state and federal law. The department asked the Board of Nursing to revoke her nursing license.

Last Thursday, the department asked the board to dismiss the complaint.

A spokesperson for the governor said Sauer-Iyer had not disclosed any information that was not already publicly known.

Sauer-Iyer has rejected a settlement proposal which would have required her to give up her nursing license for life and pay up to $1,683 in administrative costs. She has requested an administrative hearing that has not yet been scheduled.

Schiavo died in March 2005 after her feeding tube was removed at her husband's request. Two dozen disability rights groups joined her parents in opposing the removal, arguing among other things, that she was not in a "persistent vegetative state", and she should have been allowed therapies that might have permitted her to feed herself.

Related:
"Governor sides with nurse in trouble for Schiavo remarks" (St. Petersburg Times)
http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/06/red/0720e.htm
"State: Dismiss complaint against Terri Schiavo's former nurse" (St. Petersburg Times)
http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/06/red/0720d.htm
"Terri Schiavo's Right To Live" (Inclusion Daily Express Archives)
http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/advocacy/schiavo01.htm

Copyright © 2006 Inonit Publishing
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