DISCIPLINE COMMITTEE OF THE COLLEGE OF NURSES OF ONTARIO
PANEL: Dawn Cutler, RN Chairperson Tim Crowder Public Member Karen Goldenberg Public Member Terah White, RPN Member Ingrid Wiltshire-Stoby, NP Member
BETWEEN:
COLLEGE OF NURSES OF ONTARIO Emily Lawrence for College of Nurses of Ontario
- and -
ANNA ALLYSSA VALDEZ Registration No. 17304739 Danielle Bisnar and Deborah Guterman for Anna Allyssa Valdez
Christopher Wirth Independent Legal Counsel
Heard: February 11, 2022
DECISION AND REASONS
This matter came on for hearing before a panel of the Discipline Committee (the “Panel”) of the College of Nurses of Ontario (the “College”) on February 11, 2022, via videoconference.
Publication Ban
College Counsel brought a motion pursuant to s.45(3) of the Health Professions Procedural Code of the Nursing Act, 1991, for an order preventing public disclosure and banning the publication or broadcasting of the name of the patient, or any information that could disclose the patient’s identity, referred to orally or in any documents presented at the Discipline hearing of Anna Allyssa Valdez. The Member’s Counsel advised that she did not oppose the motion.
The Panel considered the submissions of College Counsel and the Member’s Counsel and decided that there be an order preventing public disclosure and banning the publication or broadcasting of the name of the patient, or any information that could disclose the patient’s identity, referred to orally or in any documents presented at the Discipline hearing of Anna Allyssa Valdez.
The Allegations
The allegations against Anna Allyssa Valdez (the “Member”) as stated in the Notice of Hearing dated November 24, 2021 are as follows:
IT IS ALLEGED THAT:
- 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(1) of Ontario Regulation 799/93, in that, while registered as a Registered Nurse (“RN”) and employed at St. Joseph’s Heath Centre – Unity Health Toronto in Toronto, Ontario (the “Facility”), you contravened a standard of practice of the profession or failed to meet the standards of practice of the profession in that:
a) on or about March 20, 2019, you documented that [the Patient] had a saline lock in situ in reliance on the report of a colleague and/or without assessing [the Patient] to determine if she had a saline lock in situ, which she did not;
b) on or about March 20, 2019, you failed to properly administer medication to [the Patient];
c) on or about March 20, 2019, you failed to document your assessment, planning, intervention, evaluation, or treatment plan in respect of your finding that [the Patient] had expiratory wheezes;
d) on or about March 20 and 21, 2019, you failed to complete a vital signs check on [the Patient] every four hours as required by a physician’s order;
e) on or about March 20 and 21, 2019, you failed to complete visual observation of [the Patient] at regular intervals;
f) on or about March 21, 2019 at 0807, you documented “Pt seen coherent at 0600” when you had not observed [the Patient] coherent at that time;
g) on or about March 21, 2019 at 0816, you documented “Pt seen coherent at 0530” when you had not observed [the Patient] coherent at that time;
h) on or about March 21, 2019 at 0824, you documented “Pt seen breathing at 0530” when you had not observed [the Patient] breathing at that time; and/or
i) on or about March 21, 2019, you altered your documentation with respect to your observations of and/or the status of [the Patient]; and/or;
- You have committed an act of professional misconduct as provided by subsection 51(1)(c) of the Health Professions Procedural Code of the [Nursing