Emergency meeting via telephone conference call; July 21, 2008, 8:30 a.m.; [phone]

 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
Board of Respiratory Care

The Board of Respiratory Care announces that an emergency meeting of the Board was held. The following Board members were in attendance: Morfia (Joy) Nunez, Ellen Weiss, Michele Grassi, Deborah Waggoner, David Rappa, Shawnta Friday-Stroud. In addition to the Board members listed above, Board counsel, Board staff, Department of Health Prosecutor, applicants and members of the public were also in attendance.

DATE AND TIME: July 21, 2008, 8:30 a.m.

PLACE: Meet-me Number: 1(888)808-6959, Conference Call Code: 1022351047

REASONS WHY AN EMERGENCY MEETING WAS NECESSARY: The meeting of the Board of Respiratory Care held on July 11, 2008, at the Tampa Airport Marriott was not noticed in the Florida Administrative Weekly 7 days in advance of the meeting as required by Section 120.525(1), F.S. As a result, it became necessary to hold an emergency meeting via teleconference pursuant to Section 120.525(3), F.S., in order to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public. Two licensees who were charged with sexual misconduct in disciplinary cases that were presented to the Board and whose licenses the Board revoked, remain licensed. One of them was charged with repeated sexual battery of a helpless patient who was unable to speak or move. The other failed to report a criminal conviction for a sexual assault in Wisconsin. These licensees present a danger to the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of Florida, wherefore an emergency meeting is necessary to protect the public and permit the Board to impose whatever discipline is appropriate.

Further, applications for licenses as respiratory therapists were reviewed. The applicants are members of the public, too. Many of the applicants had jobs lined-up and risk losing those jobs because the licenses that were granted at the July 11, 2008 meeting, are a nullity. The welfare of these citizens is in danger if they are required to spend three additional months either un or under employed waiting for the next Board of Respiratory Care meeting. In addition, the agencies or hospitals or other medical service providers who were counting on these new hires to complete their staffing requirements may find themselves understaffed thereby constituting an immediate danger to the health, safety and welfare of the public. In order to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the applicants, the respiratory care service providers and the citizens who require the respiratory care, the licensure decisions need to be made.

The Board notified all parties on its “interested party list” and all the major wire services of the time, date, place and purpose of the meeting pursuant to the requirements of Rule 28-102.003, Florida Administrative Code. The agency published notice of the meeting on its web site, notified the Tallahassee Democrat, a newspaper of general circulation in Tallahassee where the teleconference meeting would be held, and notified all individuals whose cases were to be decided. It then published this notice as prescribed by Section 120.54(3), F.S., noticing the time date, and place of the meeting, including a statement of the reasons why an emergency meeting was necessary and a statement setting forth the action taken at the meeting, in addition to the notice requirement of Section 120.525(3)(c), F.S., all as prescribed by Rule 28-102.003, F.A.C.

ACTIONS TAKEN: The license of Donald Jackson, C.R.T., number TT3274, was permanently revoked. The license of Dennis Spaulding, C.R.T., number TT2394, was permanently revoked.

Unencumbered licenses were granted to:

Wilkinson Bertrand, Certified Respiratory Therapist

Robyn N. Bigler, Registered Respiratory Therapist

Dawn Rose Bussey, Registered Respiratory Therapist

Holly Elkin, Certified Respiratory Therapist

Janice E. Honiker, Registered Respiratory Therapist

Jana Lynn Jones, Registered Respiratory Therapist

John Andrew League, Registered Respiratory Therapist

Frankie McFarland, Certified Respiratory Therapist

Nikole Peters, Certified Respiratory Therapist

Auriesheaua A. Bell, Certified Respiratory Therapist

Gregory W. Hughes, Registered Respiratory Therapist

Timothy Gill, Certified Respiratory Therapist

Conditional Licenses were granted to:

Leonard Campbell, Certified Respiratory Therapist

The application of Trina Leigh Stoehr was withdrawn.