Discipline Committee Of The College Of Nurses Of Ontario Panel:
Chairperson, RN
Member, RN
Public Representative
BETWEEN
COLLEGE OF NURSES OF ONTARIO Counsel for College of Nurses of Ontario
- and -
Francisca Caporale #71-4590-7
DECISION AND REASONS
Counsel for Francisca Caporale, RN
Heard: December 17, 1999
A panel of the Discipline Committee met on December 17,1999 to hear the following allegations set out in the Notice of Hearing (Exhibit #1), dated October 28,1999:
- You have committed an act of professional misconduct as provided by subsection 51(1)(c) of the Health Professions Procedural Code of the Nursing Act, 1991, S.O. 1991, c.32, as amended, and defined in subsection 1(37) of Ontario Regulation 799/93, in that on or about July 10, 1998 at the City of Windsor, in the Province of Ontario, you engaged in conduct or performed an act, relevant to the practice of nursing that, having regard to all the circumstances, would reasonably be regarded by members as disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional in that:
a. You permitted the premises at -, Windsor, Ontario to be used for the cultivation of marijuana.
AGREED STATEMENT OF FACTS
An Agreed Statement of Facts, presented to the panel as Exhibit #2, provided as follows:
Ms Caporale received her nursing education in the Philippines. She became a member of the College of Nurses of Ontario (the College) in 1971.
Ms Caporale has been employed with the Windsor Regional Hospital in Windsor, Ontario from March 16, 1981 until the present.
Allegation 1(a) ñ Disgraceful, dishonourable and unprofessional conduct
On July 10, 1998, Ms Caporale was charged, along with her son, with the criminal offences of unlawfully producing a controlled substance, namely cannabis marihuana, and possessing a controlled substance, namely cannabis marihuana, for the purpose of trafficking.
The charges resulted from a police search on July 10, 1998, of two Windsor premises owned by
Ms Caporale, 2650 Kenora Street and 2680 Kenora Street. At the time, Ms Caporale and her son lived at 2650 Kenora Street. A total of 1533 marihuana plants, dried marihuana, two separate hydroponic growing set ups, correspondence, packing material and other drug paraphernalia were found on the premises. The total value of the seized marihuana was approximately $777,740, according to the police.
On the basis of a guilty plea by her son, the criminal charges against Ms Caporale were withdrawn on February 4, 1999. In an affidavit filed in support of the withdrawal of the charges, Ms Caporale stated that her son was totally responsible for the cultivation of the marihuana. Ms Caporale was aware that marihuana was in the house at 2650 Kenora Street, however, as a result of emotional and physical difficulties from which she was suffering at the time, she was unable to get her son to destroy or remove the marihuana from the house. She was too weak to evict him and did not report the matter to the police.
Ms Caporale has a history of involvement in physically and verbally abusive relationships with her male partners. In addition, from his adolescent years on, her son was uncontrollable, disrespectful and disobedient. He was consistently in trouble with the police.
Ms Caporale admits that her conduct of permitting the premises at Street, Windsor, Ontario to be used for the cultivation of marijuana, amounts to professional misconduct as set out in Allegation 1(a) in that she engaged in conduct or performed an act, relevant to the practice of nursing that, having regard to all the circumstances, would reasonably be regarded by members as disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional.
The panel unanimously accepted the Agreed Statement of Facts. Counsel for the College requested that the panel prohibit publication of paragragh #7 of the Agreed Statement of Facts. The panel unanimously agreed to this request.
JOINT SUBMISSION ON PENALTY
A Joint Submission on Penalty, presented to the panel as Exhibit #3, provided as follows:
Ms. Caporale and the College jointly submit that the appropriate penalty in this case is for the Discipline Committee to make the following order:
Requiring Ms. Caporale to appear before the panel of the Discipline Committee to be reprimanded, at a date to be arranged but in any event within three months of the date the order becomes final; and
Directing the Executive Director to impose the following terms, conditions and limitations on Ms. Caporale’s certificate of registration, namely, Ms. Caporale shall receive monthly counseling for a period of one year from the date of the order from a health care practitioner with expertise in the area of abusive relationships, acceptable to the Director, Investigations and Hearings (the Director). Ms.
Caporale shall ensure that a report from the health care practitioner regarding Ms. Caporale’s participation in the counseling is received by the Director at two six month intervals during the one year period.
Counsel for the College and Ms. Caporale’s counsel acknowledged that there were mitigating circumstances and that the joint submission on penalty reflected these circumstances. The panel, in accepting the joint submission on penalty also recognized that Ms. Caporale had been in good standing with the College since registration. The Joint Submission on Penalty addresses the need for public protection and at the same time allows Ms. Caporale to be a functioning member of the profession.
Ms. Caporale signed a waiver relating to the oral reprimand and the reprimand was delivered on December 17,1999 after the conclusion of the proceedings.
I, , RN, sign this decision and reasons for the decision as Chairperson of this Discipline Panel and on behalf of the members of the Discipline Panel as listed below:
, Chairperson Date
Member, RN
Public Representative