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| Orange County Blames Nurses In Jail Death |
| By Orlando Sentinel |
| Published: 07/27/2001 |
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Two recent reports on an Orange County inmate's death say the inmate's illness was mishandled by a staff person, which led to her death. A nurse in the Orange County Jail failed to follow procedures and call a doctor when inmate Karen Johnson became violently ill on June 2 while suffering withdrawal from methadone, according to two county reports. Within hours of becoming ill, Johnson suffered a seizure and slipped into a coma. She died five days later at Orlando Regional Medical Center when she was removed from life support. The registered nurse, Vicky Coleman, disputes the county's findings. She has since resigned but said it had nothing to do with Johnson's death. The reports issued, one by county risk-management investigators and the other by outgoing jail director Ray McCleese, also say licensed practical nurse Candice Ings-Jackson mishandled Johnson's care when Johnson was turned over to the jail on May 30. Orange County Corrections officials have asked the Florida Board of Nursing to investigate the actions of the nurses. According to the reports, the jail doctor was not notified that Johnson was supposed to receive a daily dose of methadone after she was transferred to the jail from Sand Lake Hospital. County policy does not allow jail medical staff to administer methadone. When the inmate was released from Sand Lake to the jail May 30, her doctor issued orders for her to continue methadone treatment. The second error the report cited, which proved fatal for Johnson, came when her condition was evaluated on the afternoon of June 2, after what fellow inmates described as about 10 hours of nearly constant vomiting, diarrhea and pain. About 2 p.m., a licensed practical nurse from a temporary service assessed Johnson's withdrawal and assigned a numerical rating to the inmate's physical condition. The assessment is based on a variety of factors, such as frequency of vomiting. Any rating of 10 or higher is supposed to be referred immediately to a physician. Johnson's score was 15. However, instead of a doctor being called, she was sent back to her cell, where two hours later she had a seizure and stopped breathing. The medical examiner ultimately attributed her death to 'precipitous withdrawal from methadone.' |
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