Complete coverage: When caregivers harm

November 20, 2009

California adopts stricter rules for drug abusers in the health industry

In a major shift, California will impose tough new standards on drug-abusing health professionals, strictly scrutinizing those in treatment and immediately removing from practice anyone who relapses.

July 28, 2009

Nursing board seeks to triple enforcement staff

Managers of the California Board of Registered Nursing are seeking permission to more than triple the size of their enforcement staff and immediately boost licensing fees to speed discipline against errant nurses who may pose a danger to patients.

July 25, 2009

A TIMES INVESTIGATION

Loose reins on nurses in drug abuse program

The morning of her second day at Starpoint Surgery Center in Studio City, nurse Melony Currier was found in the parking lot, passed out in her car.

July 15, 2009

California nursing board's executive officer resigns

The longtime executive officer of the embattled California Board of Registered Nursing resigned Tuesday, ensuring almost entirely new leadership for the agency as it strives to revamp its oversight of hundreds of thousands of caregivers.

July 14, 2009

Schwarzenegger sweeps out nursing board

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger replaced most members of the state Board of Registered Nursing on Monday, citing the unacceptable time it takes to discipline nurses accused of egregious misconduct.

July 12, 2009

WHEN CAREGIVERS HARM

Problem nurses stay on the job as patients suffer

Nurse Owen Jay Murphy Jr. twisted the jaw of one patient until he screamed.

July 12, 2009

Board takes no public action against some King/Drew nurses

It is no secret that nurses played a central role in the collapse of Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center.

December 30, 2008

Health staff background checks lag

California's failure to check the criminal backgrounds of health professionals extends well beyond nurses, encompassing tens of thousands of doctors, dentists, psychiatric technicians and therapists.

November 2, 2008

Panel slow to act on nurses' crimes

In March 2006, a Long Beach hospital put state licensing authorities on notice: Two patients had accused a nurse of molesting them on a single night. One said that he massaged her breasts, the other that he groped her under her hospital gown, according to hospital and court records.

October 24, 2008

New rules for nurses

The California Board of Registered Nursing unanimously approved emergency regulations Thursday requiring all of its licensees to submit fingerprints, allowing law enforcement agencies to flag the nursing board any time a nurse is arrested.

October 11, 2008

Nurses' license renewal stiffened

California regulators have announced emergency measures to investigate the criminal backgrounds of all registered nurses in the state, days after The Times reported that dozens of nurses had kept their licenses for years despite multiple convictions.

October 5, 2008

TIMES INVESTIGATION

Criminal past is no bar to nursing

Dozens of registered nurses convicted of crimes, including sex offenses and attempted murder, have remained fully licensed to practice in California for years before the state nursing board acted against them, a Times investigation found.