FRIENDS IN NEED
Nurse’s fine gets covered
What was intended largely as a gesture of support has now helped rescue a Saskatchewan nurse from financial peril over a post on her personal Facebook page about her grandfather’s care.
In less than two weeks, a fundraising campaign surpassed its $26,000 target to help Saskatchewan nurse Carolyn Strom pay penalties levied by the Saskatchewan Registered Nurses Association for the Facebook post.
Strom, a nurse in the Prince Albert Parkland Health Region, was found guilty of professional misconduct last October by the SRNA’s disciplinary counsel. In a written decision issued this month, the SRNA ordered her to pay a $1,000 fine plus $25,000 toward the cost of the disciplinary process — which has already cost around $150,000.
As of Tuesday afternoon, 452 donors had contributed $26,150 to the GoFundMe campaign.
“It feels really good to be part of such a cool group of nurses and friends of the (nursing) profession who are so committed to allowing nurses to have a voice in health care,” said Natalie Stake-Doucet, a Montreal nurse and one of nine signatories to the GoFundMe campaign.
Strom was disciplined after posting on her personal Facebook page in February 2015 about what she described as “subpar care” her grandfather received at a Macklin health facility. Staff at that centre filed a complaint with the SRNA, which sent her a notice of hearing alleging she failed to use the proper channels, that the post affected the facility and staff, that she failed to obtain all the facts first, and that she used her status as an RN for personal purposes.
The SRNA gave Strom until July 1 to pay the $1,000 fine and three years to pay the $25,000 or face suspension of her nursing license.
Stake-Doucet said “not in a million years” did she expect the target to be met so quickly, if at all. Some donors contributed as little as $5, while others contributed thousands. Many donated anonymously.
“When we started, it was more of a gesture,” Stake-Doucet said. “We felt kind of powerless and we wanted to do something to show we stood with Carolyn.”
Strom’s lawyer, Marcus Davies, said Strom has “no choice” but to appeal.
If she wins that appeal, StakeDoucet said, the campaign plans to give the money to a seniors’ advocacy group. — With files from Arthur WhiteCrummey, Prince Albert Daily Herald, and Andrea Hill, Saskatoon StarPhoenix