New Hampshire media, national nursing journals, and national media all report on multiple investigations into state board nursing licenses following a massive alleged fraud scheme involving several now-closed Florida nursing schools.
If you are a New Hampshire nurse holding suspect credentials from the involved Florida nursing schools, prepare for nursing board disciplinary proceedings. Retain the Lento Law Firm's premier Professional License Defense Team and national license defense attorney Joseph D. Lento. Call 888.535.3686 or go online now for skilled and experienced representation fighting your New Hampshire nursing license issues in the nursing school fraud scandal.
Operation Nightingale Nursing School Fraud Allegations
FBI agents and HHS officials joined with state licensing board officials in the federal Operation Nightingale, investigating a massive nursing credential fraud scheme. Federal criminal fraud charges filed in Miami, Florida, against officials from several Florida nursing schools brought the coordinated enforcement action to light. The scheme allegedly involved thousands of fake nursing degrees and transcripts sold for as much as $15,000 to aspiring nurses, many of them minority immigrants, from these Florida schools closed in the scandal's wake:
- Siena College;
- Palm Beach School of Nursing;
- Sacred Heart International Institute;
- Quisqueya School of Nursing also called Sunshine Academy;
- Quisqueya Health Care Academy; and
- MedLife Institute West Palm Beach.
Ongoing Impacts of Operation Nightingale
The Florida nursing school scandal is far from over, despite the filing of criminal charges against more than two dozen of the closed schools' officials. Federal authorities allege that thousands of nurses used the fake credentials for nursing licenses and jobs around the country. They also allege that nurses used the bogus credentials for nursing school admission and degrees at other schools. Those licenses, jobs, and degrees are all now in question. The scandal also adds to unprecedented nurse shortages.
Nationwide Nursing Board Investigations
State nursing boards across the country have publicly confirmed license investigations and revocations arising out of the scandal. As if to leave any doubt about the willingness of state boards to go after suspect licenses, the National Council of State Boards of Nursing has declared strongest state board support for those licensing actions. New Hampshire nurses with credentials from the suspect Florida nursing schools should prepare for state license disciplinary proceedings.
New Hampshire Board of Nursing Investigation Authority
New Hampshire's Nurse Practice Act authorizes the state's Board of Nursing to license nurses practicing in New Hampshire. The Act's Section 326-B:4 further authorizes the Board of Nursing to withhold and withdraw licenses of nurses who fail to meet the state's nursing education requirements and standards. Section 326-B:7 expressly authorizes the Board of Nursing to revoke the license of any nurse “[e]mploying fraud or deceit in procuring or attempting to procure a license to practice nursing.” Contested charges, such as where a nurse with suspected fraudulent credentials wishes to prove those credentials to be credible, go before a hearing board under protective procedures.
New Hampshire Nurse Employer Investigations
New Hampshire healthcare employers play their own role in policing the credentials of their practicing nurses. Employers nationwide have cooperated with federal and state officials to identify nurses with suspect credentials from the Florida nursing schools involved in the fraud scandal. Employers have already terminated the employment of nurses who cannot prove their credentials to be credible and turned nurses over to state licensing officials. Employers are also offering protective procedures giving some nurses a chance to defend their credentials.
License Defense Services for New Hampshire Nurses
New Hampshire nurses can trust the Lento Law Firm's premier Professional License Defense Team and national license defense attorney Joseph D. Lento with their professional licensing issues arising out of the Florida nursing school fraud scandal. Call 888.535.3686 or go online now for skilled and experienced professional help fighting for your New Hampshire nursing license.
