Health

A nurse is suing Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch, N.J., claiming she was retaliated against after reporting that some of her colleagues working the night shift gave Benadryl to patients to make them sleepy and later falsified medical records.

Lawyers for Patricia R. Moran, of  Wall Township, filed the lawsuit in state Superior Court on Wednesday. Moran, a nurse with more than three decades of experience, is represented by the firm McOmber & McOmber.

In a copy of the lawsuit posted to the firm’s website, Moran claims several nurses within the adult involuntary psychiatric unit, the floor on which she worked, “knowingly misused and administered Benadryl, intentionally administered the medication, not for its intended uses, but instead to make a patient drowsy or fall asleep.”

6 CANCER PATIENTS DEVELOPED RARE BLOOD INFECTION AFTER NURSE TAMPERED WITH OPIOIDS: REPORT 

“Upon information and belief, the medication was administered by staff to lighten the workload for the night shift nurses,” the suit states.

The medication, an antihistamine, is typically used to treat allergy or cold symptoms such as a runny nose and sneezing. It can also be used to alleviate itching from rashes or insect bites. Drowsiness is a well-known side effect of Benadryl.

The lawsuit also alleges the nurses then “deceptively failed to chart or note a patient received Benadryl for such purposes, which is dangerous (for a variety of reasons) and undoubtedly against hospital policy.”

Moran then reported the nurses to her direct manager, defendant Clare Cinelli, who also manages the other nurses who are accused of administering Benadryl to the patients. But in response, Cinelli, according to the suit, “commenced an immediate retaliatory campaign to justify [Moran’s] termination or compel her resignation.”

“No employee deserves to be treated in such a manner, let alone someone who has dedicated more than 31 years at this particular hospital. Ms. Moran looks forward to her day in court.” 

— Attorney Matthew A. Luber

“[Moran] was denied time on the schedule, she was provided a bogus evaluation, she was subjected to increased scrutiny, and she was otherwise ostracized from her co-workers,” the suit states.

After reporting the nurses, Moran was also allegedly “floated” to a different floor, the pediatric psychiatric unit, where she was “asked to complete a pediatric admission.” But Moran had never completed such a task, telling the charge nurse she lacked training on how to do so. When Cinelli heard of this incident, she allegedly “falsely accused [Moran] of ‘refusing’ an assignment and committing a ‘terminable offense,’” according to the suit.

In the more than 31 years that Moran worked at the hospital, she was never subject to any disciplinary action, the complaint reads, noting she “suddenly found herself under investigation and slated for potential termination.”

Moran was then suspended for 14 weeks without pay and given a “final warning.”

Moran’s attorneys in the lawsuit called the retaliation against their client “obvious” and “shameful” and noted it has “no place in any workplace, let alone a hospital like  [RWJBarnabas Health],” which owns Monmouth Medical Center and is listed as a defendant in the suit.

The lawsuit claims the hospital’s alleged actions against Moran violated the state’s Conscientious Employee Protection Act, colloquially referred to as the “Whistleblower Act.” The act  prohibits employers from taking any retaliatory action against an employee who reports “deceptive conduct in the workplace.”

Moran, who first became aware of the alleged misuse of Benadryl in March, remains employed by Monmouth Medical Center, according to NBC News. She was cleared to return to work earlier this month, though her manager has allegedly refused to give her a shift, according to the lawsuit.

“[Moran’s] career has been destroyed and her reputation has been tarnished, all because she reported clear violations of hospital policy and patient safety issues,” the suit reads.

In a statement, Matthew A. Luber, an attorney representing Moran, said the hospital “turned its back” on his client and “immediately related in an egregious fashion, all because she exposed illicit conduct and sought to uphold the highest standard of care for patients.”

“No employee deserves to be treated in such a manner, let alone someone who has dedicated more than 31 years at this particular hospital. Ms. Moran looks forward to her day in court,” he added.

PET TURTLES LINKED TO SALMONELLA OUTBREAK ACROSS 13 STATES, CDC SAYS

When contacted by Fox News, Elizabeth Brennan, a spokeswoman for Monmouth Medical Center, declined to comment on any “individual employee or patient matter,” citing company policy.

“Monmouth Medical Center is fully committed to providing a safe environment for our patients, visitors and staff,” she said in a statement.

The news comes after a nurse at a cancer facility in New York allegedly tampered with injectable opioids, which sickened at least six patients with a rare blood infection. 

A 52-year-old man who said he is in good health has pre-emptively gotten the letters “DNR” (“Do Not Resuscitate”) tattooed on his chest in the event of a medical emergency.

Nigel Thwaites, of Norfolk, England, said he got the idea after watching a video on what could happen when CPR is performed incorrectly.

HONEST OBIT CALLS FOR MORE OPIOID ADDICTION HELP FOR STRUGGLING MOMS

“A number of years ago at work there was a defibrillator course and we all learned CPR,” he told SWNS. “Anyway, they showed us this short video of someone incorrectly applying CPR. A lot of people don’t know how to do CPR correctly and what happens is that the brain becomes starved of oxygen which causes a loss of faculties in that person. So my decision was that I don’t want to come back as a vegetable, and I decided I don’t want to be resuscitated.”

Thwaites, who also is an organ donor and has his blood type tattooed on his shoulder, said he watched his own father’s health deteriorate, and he doesn’t want to put his family through a similar plight.

NURSE RETURNS TO WORK AT HOSPITAL WHERE SHE WAS TREATED FOR LEUKEMIA AS CHILD

“It’s not just about quality of life, sometimes it’s about the quality of someone’s death too,” he said.

DNR tattoos pose an ethical and legal dilemma for health care providers, especially in the U.S., as DNR laws typically vary state-by-state and must be signed by a doctor. England has similar laws, and according to Keep Calm and Talk Law, the National Health Service (NHS) would likely “be obliged to refuse to honor a DNR tattoo,” unless it complied with the standards for a living will. Honoring the tattoo without a witness signature and patient signature could cause a doctor to lose his medical license, or be sued by the patient’s family or estate. Still, the topic remains open to debate.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

For Thwaites, he said that in addition to the tattoo, he has made a living will.

“I’ve made a living will, and I think the tattoo is one of those things that you hope you never have to use,” he told SWNS.

A salmonella outbreak that’s sickened at least 21 people across 13 states is linked to pet turtles, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced this week.

At least seven people have been hospitalized as a result of the Salmonella Oranienburg outbreak, though no deaths have been reported to date.

LEGIONNAIRES’ DISEASE OUTBREAK IN NORTH CAROLINA KILLS 2ND PERSON, HOSPITALIZES 88, OFFICIALS SAY

“Epidemiologic and traceback evidence indicate that contact with pet turtles is the likely source of this outbreak,” the CDC said in a Wednesday announcement. Twelve of the 17 people interviewed said they had contact with a pet turtle prior to falling ill, further supporting the suspected link.

Six cases were reported in California. Illinois, New York, and Washington state have each seen two cases. Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska, New Jersey, Tennessee, and Vermont have also seen at least one case, according to the CDC’s map of reported cases. 

“Ill people reported contact with red-eared sliders and other turtles that were larger than four inches in length. Previous Salmonella outbreaks have been linked to turtles with a shell length [of] less than four inches,” officials said, noting the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has since “banned the sale and distribution external icon of turtles with shells less than four inches long as pets.”

Turtle droppings are often a source of salmonella bacteria, according to the CDC, which notes these germs can spread to other areas within the turtle’s water tank or habitat.

LEGIONNAIRES’ OUTBREAK IN NORTH CAROLINA LINKED TO HOT TUBS AT STATE FAIR, OFFICIALS SAY

“People can get sick after they touch a turtle or anything in their habitats,” the CDC says, warning turtle owners against “kissing or snuggling” the reptiles.

Thorough hand washing, cleaning habitats outside the home and not letting turtles roam freely in areas where food is prepared are all ways to prevent illness.

Salmonella infections can cause diarrhea, vomiting, fever and abdominal cramps. Illnesses are more likely to be severe in the elderly and infants, according to the CDC, which estimates salmonella causes about 1.2 million illnesses in the U.S. each year.

A second person has died following an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in North Carolina, while 88 people have been hospitalized, state health officials announced on Thursday.

As of Oct. 9, there were 134 confirmed cases of Legionnaires’ disease or Pontiac fever, a milder form of the illness, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services’ Division of Public Health.

Residents in “multiple states and North Carolina counties” have been affected, officials said.

LEGIONNAIRES’ OUTBREAK IN NORTH CAROLINA KILLS 1, SICKENS NEARLY 100 OTHERS: OFFICIALS 

The outbreak is linked to the North Carolina Mountain State Fair, which took place from Sept. 6-15 at the Western North Carolina Agricultural Center in Fletcher.

More specifically, those sickened were likely exposed to Legionella bacteria near a hot tub display within the Davis Event Center at the Agricultural Center. The event center housed many vendors during the fair, including those for hot tubs.

Those sickened were more likely to say they walked by the hot tub display compared to those who were not sickened, health officials said in an Oct. 3 update. Testing identified Legionella bacteria in at least one water sample taken from the Davis Event Center.

“Low levels of Legionella present were able to grow in hot tubs or possibly some other source in the Davis Event Center leading to exposure through breathing in aerosolized water that contained the bacteria,” authorities said at the time.

LEGIONNAIRES’ OUTBREAK IN NORTH CAROLINA LINKED TO HOT TUBS AT STATE FAIR, OFFICIALS SAY

Legionnaires’ disease is a severe form of pneumonia. People contract the disease when inhaling Legionella bacteria; it’s not spread via person-to-person contact. Legionella pneumophila, a bacterium, is usually the cause of the illness, per the Mayo Clinic. It can be found in soil and water, but more commonly causes infection when it multiplies in water systems (e.g., hot tubs and air conditioners).

The disease is treatable with antibiotics and those who are sickened typically recover in full. Symptoms often include fever, chills, cough, and shortness of breath.

The news comes after health officials in Georgia this past August responded to a massive Legionnaires’ outbreak linked to a hotel in Atlanta. At the time, a state health official told Fox News that the Legionella outbreak was the largest ever recorded in Georgia.

A Vermont father whose daughter died of an overdose while seeking treatment has used her obituary to shed light on the harrowing aspects of opioid addiction that saw her children taken away from her and left her loved ones with many unanswered questions.

OPIOID DOCTORS WARNED AGAINST ABRUPTLY ENDING TREATMENT FOR PAIN PATIENTS

“Megan Angelina Webbley, 31, passed away unexpectedly on Sunday, September 29,” her father, Edwin Webbley, wrote in the obituary, which was published in Vermont’s Seven Days. “Specifically, she died of an overdose, finally losing her battle with addiction. She was in Manchester, N.H., seeking treatment for her addiction. We have no clear picture of what went wrong.”

The obituary revealed that in addition to her parents and brother, Webbley is survived by four children. It said that she was first injured in a cliff jumping accident in 2005 that left her with her jaw wired shut.

“They suspected a TBI, but when they prescribed her liberal doses of opiates, she lost control of her life,” the obituary said. “She would be in and out of rehab – and jail – for the next 14 years. To editorialize, I am hoping that the Department for Children and Families rethinks its mission to be the punisher of addicted mothers, the separator of families and the arbiter of children’s futures, and instead embrace a mission of enhanced rehabilitation.”

DR. DREW BLASTS FELLOW DOCTORS FOR FUELING OPIOID CRISIS IN NEW DOCUMENTARY

“We, as a state, are overwhelmed by addiction,” Webbley wrote. “We have almost nowhere to turn. I encourage enhanced funding for treatment in general and using DCF as a gateway for mothers with addiction to get help. Because, as one would guess, once a mother is separated from her children, desperation sets in, even with the brightest and most determined of mothers – and Megan Angelina Webbley was that bright and determined mother… with a fatal disease and a dearth of treatment options.”

OPIOID ADDICTION CRISIS SPURS BRUTAL CANDOR IN OBITUARIES 

In recent years, many families of people who have wrestled with opioid addiction have chosen to deal with the issue head-on in obituaries of their loved ones. Many say they chose to be candid about what killed their loved ones to remove the stigma of addiction as well as to raise awareness.

In 2017, there were 114 drug overdose deaths involving opioids in Vermont, which is a rate of 20.0 deaths per 100,000 persons, compared to the national rate of 14.6 deaths per 100,000 persons, according to Drugabuse.gov. In the same year, Vermont doctors wrote 50.5 prescriptions for every 100 persons, which was lower than the average U.S. rate, and among the lowest in the country, but the rate of overdose deaths involving opioid prescriptions has been increasing steadily since 2014.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

On Thursday, the Department of Health and Human Services released guidelines for physicians on how to safely taper opioid doses for chronic pain patients and cautioned against abruptly ending or cutting down dosages. The move follows a similar update provided by the CDC several months ago, after it found physicians had been misinterpreting guidelines sent out in 2016 that saw many patients abruptly cut off and suffering without relief.

Boston health officials this week confirmed a resident has the measles, marking the city’s first case since 2013.

The Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) on Wednesday announced the confirmed case, noting the patient was officially diagnosed with the virus on Oct. 6. It’s not clear how the person was infected.

“During the infectious period, the individual went to locations where other people may have been exposed,” officials said in a press release, noting anyone who does not know their measles vaccination status should receive the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine if they haven’t already.

MEASLES CASES IN US HIGHEST SINCE 1992, CDC SAYS

“Those who have had measles in the past or have received two doses of [a] measles-containing vaccine are unlikely to become ill even if exposed,” they added.

Locations where the patient may have exposed others to the virus include: Render Coffee in the South End on Oct. 4; Cafe Madeleine in the South End on Oct. 4; Gyroscope in the Fenway on Oct. 4; CouCou in the South End on Oct. 5; and Sir Speedy in the Back Bay on Oct. 5.

People who visited these locations at those times could potentially become ill 21 days after exposure.

“Infected people can spread measles to others from four days before through four days after the rash appears.”

— CDC

Measles is a highly contagious virus that spreads through the air after an infected person coughs or sneezes. Others can contract measles when they breathe the contaminated air or touch a contaminated surface, and then touch their eyes, nose or mouth.

ARIZONA LEADS COUNTRY IN WEST NILE VIRUS DEATHS: CDC

“Infected people can spread measles to others from four days before through four days after the rash appears,” the CDC says.

The MMR vaccine can protect both individuals and other people from contracting the virus.

Young children are typically most at risk of contracting measles. The CDC recommends children get two doses of the MMR vaccination, but the first dose is typically given to children when they are between 12 and 15 months old, with the second occurring between ages 4 and 6.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A man who had to call out sick from work when he woke up with vertigo and an earache was shocked when the olive oil he was using to ease the pain actually worked to coax a critter out of his ear canal that had crawled in during the night.

MAN DIES AFTER ‘VERY HOT’ FISH CAKE BURNED HIS THROAT SO BADLY HE COULDN’T BREATHE: REPORT

“I put a couple of drops of olive oil in my ears and decided to go back to sleep for a bit – I could feel tickling in my ear, but put it down to the oil,” Liam Gomez, of Kent, England, told South West News Service, a British news agency. “When I woke up a couple hours later, I could still feel the sensation, but also hear a faint scratching sound, so I decided to investigate with a cotton bud.”

Gomez, who the night before had found a spider’s nest in his doorway, said the spider came out in one fell swoop except for one wayward leg.

ARIZONA LEADS COUNTRY IN WEST NILE VIRUS DEATHS: CDC

“I used a hairpin and the cotton bud to retrieve the spider, making sure to count the legs coming out, then made sure to give my ear a good clean,” he told SWNS.

Gomez, who told SWNS he skipped the doctor and is hoping the spider was male, said he’s taken to sleeping with headphones on to prevent it from happening again.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“My initial reaction was just to get the bloody thing out of me as fast as possible – I was obviously revolted as I hate spiders,” he told SWNS. “Once I’d calmed down a bit I did think, ‘Well, that’s one for Facebook!’”

A vaccine undergoing testing at the Mayo Clinic has reportedly removed cancer cells in a breast cancer patient.

Florida resident Lee Mercker became the first patient to participate in a clinical trial for a new vaccine after being diagnosed in March with early-stages of the disease.

She told First Coast News she had “DCIS stage zero” breast cancer, meaning the cancer cells had not yet spread. She was left with three options — have a lumpectomy where the cancer cells are removed, undergo a mastectomy where the breasts are removed, or join a clinical trial for a potentially life-saving vaccine to kill the cells and prevent them from coming back.

FORMER NFL RUNNING BACK DEANGELO WILLIAMS SPONSORS 500 MAMMOGRAM SCREENINGS AFTER MOM’S BREAST CANCER DEATH

“I signed on the dotted line that day,” Mercker said of the 12-week trial at the clinics Jacksonville campus.

“It’s supposed to stimulate a patient’s own immune response so that the immune cells like t-cells would go in and attack the cancer,” said Dr. Saranya Chumsri, an oncologist at the world-renowned medical center.

Mercker said the process entailed a series of shots and tests.

“They always took your blood, you had a physical, they’d make your shot right there on the spot for you,” Mercker said. “It was three shots, all in a row, alternating arms, four shots, two weeks apart.”

“It’s supposed to be just off the shelf, kind of similar to when you get the flu shot or pneumonia shot,” Chumsri said.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

She was still required to get a mastectomy to make sure everything was removed properly. Researchers can view the breast tissue to access how the vaccine works.

The treatment is being used on another patient who is reportedly showing positive results.

Chumsri said clinical trials for patients with other stages of cancer are also showing good results.

A new report says a 51-year-old British wedding planner died earlier this year after he reportedly ate a fish cake so hot it burned his throat, causing swelling to his airways that ultimately impeded his breathing.

Darren Hickey — who was described by his partner, Neil Parkinson, as a “larger-than-life character” —  reportedly sampled a fish cake at a wedding venue around noon back on April 4, South West News Service (SWNS), a British news agency, reports.

TEEN WITH SEVERE DAIRY ALLERGY SERVED FATAL DISH DESPITE ALERTING WAITSTAFF TO DIET NEEDS, CORONER SAYS 

The pain from the burn led Hickey, a stroke survivor, to seek medical attention at the Urgent Care Ward at Chorley Hospital. Medical professionals reportedly sent him home with acetaminophen and told him to return if the pain worsened. Hickey then went home to rest.

That evening, Parkinson, 55, claims he heard Hickey “making noises” and rushed upstairs. He reportedly found Hickey, of Bolton, Lancashire, choking.

“He was stood up choking and coughing so I banged his back but then he slid forward onto the floor,” Parkinson said, according to SWNS. Hickey was taken by ambulance to Royal Bolton Hospital, where he was pronounced dead just after midnight that evening. His death came roughly 12 hours after he’d sampled the cake.

The recent inquest into the man’s death heard by Bolton Coroners’ Court ruled that the burns to his throat caused extreme pain and swelling. The swelling to his airways eventually made it impossible for him to breathe and swallow.

Dr. Patrick Waugh, a pathologist who performed Hickey’s post-mortem, said the burns were far enough down in the man’s throat that they would not have been seen without specialized equipment.

Waugh compared the burns to those sustained by people who breathe in smoke during a house fire.

“The patient can appear well, they will be talking to you, but then the swelling starts,” Waugh said at the recently conducted inquest into the April death, per SWNS.

WOMAN BATTLING RARE ‘SUICIDE DISEASE’ HAS LEG AMPUTATED IN HOPES OF FINDING RELIEF FROM CHRONIC PAIN CONDITION

Hickey’s cause of death was ruled asphyxiation.

Acting Senior Coroner Alan Walsh called the wedding planner’s death an “immense tragedy.”

“I believe there are enormous lessons to be learned,” he said. “This was caused by eating a fish cake, very small and very hot but with catastrophic consequences.”

Texas is the third state in as many days to report its first vaping-related death, mirroring similar tragic news out of New York and Utah. As of Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had confirmed 26 deaths across 21 states, including three fatalities each in Alabama and California.

The number of confirmed and probable lung illnesses tied to vaping had also climbed to 1,299.

DOCTOR SAYS VAPING COULD MAKE YOU MORE SUSCEPTIBLE TO THE FLU

Texas’ Department of State Health Services did not release additional information about the victim in a news release, but the Associated Press reported that the death involved an older woman in north Texas who died last week.

The state did say that of the 95 confirmed or probable cases of lung illnesses, 25 percent involve patients under 18 years old, but they range in age from 13 through 75 years old. Officials said 76 percent of the illnesses involve males, and 88 percent have reported vaping products containing THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.

LA PROPOSES BAN ON E-CIGARETTES, VAPING DEVICES

In Utah, health officials said the victim was under 30, and had also “vaped THC prior to their death.”

“This death is a sad reminder of the severity of these unexplained illnesses,” Dr. Angela Dunn, Utah Department of Health epidemiologist, said in the news release. “Based on what we know about this outbreak and what may be contributing to it, our best advice to the public is to stop vaping products that contain THC.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The FDA had similar advice for consumers earlier this month, as federal investigators are currently looking at the more than 1,200 lung illnesses reported have also found that nearly 80 percent of cases involve a THC product. However, they have yet to pinpoint any one product or ingredient but say they are increasingly focused on thickeners and additives found in black market THC cartridges.