Ohio Nurse Could Benefit from Alternative to Discipline Program
A Toledo nurse has confessed that she used a stolen employee identification card to gain access to a ketamine clinic, where, she says, she stole five vials of the potent sedative. Ohio’s Board of Nursing offers a program for nurses and other healthcare professionals struggling with drug or alcohol addiction, designed to help them recover, keep their licenses, and keep working.
Addiction is a crippling illness that can ruin a nurse’s career. Programs that treat it rather than punish it recognize that nurses are dedicated, skilled professionals who deserve to keep their license. The Professional License Defense Team at the LLF National Firm helps nurses in Ohio and all over the country when their license — the key to their careers and livelihood — is in jeopardy. If you’re in trouble with your board, call us at 888-535-3686 or send us a message online and tell us about your case.
Keeping Nurses with Addiction Issues Stay on Track
Nurses work long hours under intense pressure. Chronic staffing shortages in the nation’s hospitals and clinics exacerbate both the workload and the stress. It’s no wonder that, sometimes, they self-medicate in order to cope.
Ohio’s approach to helping nurses who struggle with drugs or alcohol affirms the reality of addiction and the value of nurses in society. The state’s Safe Haven Program provides a crucial alternative to discipline that could act as a model for others nationwide.
Ohio’s Safe Haven Program
The Ohio Board of Nursing created and oversees Safe Haven, which offers therapeutic solutions to nurses dealing with substance abuse or mental health issues. The program evaluates participants and refers them for treatment. Nurses can self-refer to Safe Haven; colleagues, employers, and others who wish to refer a nurse to the program must do so through the Ohio Board of Nursing.
Nurses keep their license while they participate in the program, but are ineligible for a multi-state nursing license for that period.
Board Refers Nurse to Safe Haven: A Hypothetical
Because the Safe Haven Program respects its clients’ confidentiality, you won’t find public records outlining any specific nurse’s experience in the program. However, using readily available information about the program, you might expect it to look like this:
A licensed RN from the surgical unit at an Ohio hospital starts making documentation errors and behaving erratically. Their supervisor uncovers evidence that the nurse has been stealing opioids from the ward’s supply stations. They report the matter to the Ohio Board of Nursing.
Once the board determines that the nurse’s problems stem from a substance abuse disorder and are not the result of willful misconduct, it refers the nurse to the Safe Haven Program, where they’re enrolled in an intensive outpatient treatment program. They continue working but under restricted conditions that eliminate their access to opioid drugs.
Upon completion of the Safe Haven Program, the nurse returns to their regular nursing duties and reapplies for their multi-state nursing license.
Because of the state’s alternative to discipline program, a skilled nurse beat their addiction and continues to serve Ohio patients.
The Professional License Defense Team Can Help
Many states have programs similar to Safe Haven, but it isn’t always easy to get the licensing board to see that rehabilitation serves the public good better than disciplinary action would. Programs like Safe Haven’s can also be difficult to enroll in, and can come with tight restrictions: once you’re in an alternative-to-discipline program, you’re committed to it. Accepting your licensing board’s recommendation for one of these programs is not a decision to make without legal counsel. Call the LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team at 888-535-3686 or send us a message online.