STATE OF FLORIDA

DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

FLORIDA STATE BOARD OF NURSING, )

)

Petitioner, )

)

vs. ) Case No. 77-1528

) DOROTHY LEE JENNINGS MELSON, )

)

Respondent. )

)

RECOMMENDED ORDER

Pursuant to notice, an administrative hearing was held before Diane D. Tremor, Hearing Officer with the Division of Administrative Hearings, at 10:00

a.m. on November 22, 1977, in Courtroom C, Pinellas County Judicial Building,

545 First Avenue, North, St. Petersburg, Florida.

APPEARANCES

For Petitioner: Julius Finegold, Esquire

1007 Blackstone Building

Jacksonville, Florida 32202

For Respondent: Paul W. Ferrell, Esquire

Legal Aid Society of St.

Petersburg, Florida

440 Second Avenue North

St. Petersburg, Florida 33701 FINDINGS OF FACT

Upon consideration of the evidence adduced at the hearing, the following facts are found:

1. Respondent Melson was formerly licensed in the State of Florida as a practical nurse. Having failed to renew said license before the expiration date of April 1, 1976, her license was automatically terminated pursuant to Florida Statutes Section 464.151(1)(b). When respondent applied for the reinstatement of her terminated license, the Board of Nursing gave notice of its intent to deny the application. As grounds therefore, petitioner found that respondent failed to meet current standards for practice as required by F.S. 464.151(1)(b), to wit: failure to he in good mental and physical health as required by F.S. 464.111(2).

   
   

2. By an administrative complaint filed by the petitioner, respondent was advised of her right to pursue an administrative hearing on the denial of her application for reinstatement. She requested a hearing and the undersigned was duly designated to conduct the hearing.

3. Dr. James Humpf, a medical physician since 1953, first met respondent in December of 1976 when respondent came to his clinic complaining of headaches. In February of 1977, Dr. Humpf signed a certificate of good mental and physical health for respondent's application for reinstatement of her Florida license. Subsequent to February, Dr. Humpf saw respondent on four occasions in June, July and August. Based upon respondent's actions on those visits, Dr. Humpf had second thoughts regarding respondent's mental health. He therefore notified the Board that he would not now sign respondent's application for reinstatement.

   Dr. Humpf felt that respondent exhibited inappropriate behavior and acted as if she suffered from mental retardation or deficiency. He described her affect as childlike, affectionate and inappropriate. When she came in for an appointment, she would walk into his office and hug and kiss him. While Dr. Humpf performed no mental tests upon respondent and knew nothing about respondent's performance as a nurse, it was his opinion that respondent would pose a risk to patients because of her affect and judgment.

   
   

4. Mary L. Willis, a registered nurse for twenty-five years and a nursing consultant, had a counseling session with respondent in February of 1977. It was Ms. Willis' opinion that respondent's affectation and responses during this session were not appropriate under the circumstances. While Ms. Willis was attempting to elicit answers from respondent regarding her past record of experience and employment, respondent roamed around the room, would not sit don and continued to talk about other things. Ms. Willis had to constantly instruct her to be still and answer the questions posed.

   
   

5. Respondent testified that she was an affectionate person as a result of her Southern heritage and her desire to make new friends, having recently moved to Florida and having been recently separated from her husband. She had difficulty at the hearing answering the basic questions posed by both her counsel and counsel for the petitioner, her answers often not being responsive to their inquiries. Respondent was originally licensed as a nurse in 1960 in the State of Tennessee.

   
   

   CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

   
   

6. The license of a licensee who fails to timely renew her license is automatically terminated, subject to reinstatement by the payment of a fee and by providing satisfactory evidence that the licensee meets current standards for practice. F.S. 464.151 (b) and (c). Among the standards for practice as a licensed practical nurse is that the applicant be in good mental and physical health. F.S. 464.111(2).

   
   

7. Here, the petitioner was presented evidence that the respondent's demeanor was cause for concern. The findings of fact set forth above substantiate this. Respondent had difficulty answering basic questions and others in the nursing and medical profession had observed her behavior to be inappropriate under the circumstances. While none of the witnesses at the hearing had any direct knowledge of respondent's capabilities in the practice of nursing, the Board had sufficient evidence of her behavior and judgment in other circumstances to establish doubt that she was in good mental and physical health. The Board is charged with the responsibility to protect the public not only from those who have committed grievous breaches of duty and have endangered patients, but also from those who would be a threat to patients were they permitted to continue the practice of their profession. In denying the respondent's application for reinstatement of her practical nursing license, the Board acted within the parameters of the nursing statutes, which are preventive as well as regulatory in purpose.

RECOMMENDATION

Based upon the findings of fact and conclusions of law recited above, it is recommended that respondent's application for reinstatement of her practical nursing license be DENIED.

Done and Entered this 10th day of January, 1978, in Tallahassee, Florida.

DIANE D. TREMOR

Hearing Officer

Division of Administrative Hearings

530 Carlton Building Tallahassee, Florida 32304

COPIES FURNISHED:

Julius Finegold, Esquire 1007 Blackstone Building

Jacksonville, Florida 32202

Paul W. Ferrell, Esquire

Legal Aid Society of St. Petersburg, Florida

440 Second Avenue North

St. Petersburg, Florida 33701

Mrs. Geraldine Johnson, R.N. State Board of Nursing

6501 Arlington Expressway, Bldg B Jacksonville, Florida 32211

Docket for Case No: 77-001528

Orders for Case No: 77-001528