Filipino nurses face criminal charges after quitting jobs caring for terminally ill children

By: FRANK ELTMAN - Associated Press | Thursday, January 17, 2008 7:57 PM PST ∞

RIVERHEAD, N.Y. -- For months, the nurses complained that they were subject to demeaning and unfair working conditions -- not what they were promised when they came to America from the Philippines in search of a better life. So they abruptly quit.

But in doing so, they put more than their careers at risk: Prosecutors hit them with criminal charges for allegedly jeopardizing the lives of terminally ill children they were in charge of watching.

The 10 nurses and the attorney who advised them were charged with conspiracy and child endangerment in what defense lawyers say is an unprecedented use of criminal law in a labor dispute. If convicted of the misdemeanor offenses, they face up to a year in jail on each of 13 counts, and could lose their nursing licenses and be deported.

The case has unfolded against the backdrop of a chronic nursing shortage in the United States. All of the defendants were from the Philippines, which exported 120,000 nurses last year.

One defendant was a doctor back home and a top scorer on the country's medical board exams, but decided it was more lucrative to be a nurse in the United States. Others had respectable medical jobs back home and viewed their work in New York as a dream come true.

"Coming to the United States is like the fulfillment of your nursing career," said Maria Theresa Ramos, who arrived on Long Island in 2004.

The nurses are backed by several Filipino organizations in the U.S., as well as both the New York and California state nurses associations, which fear prosecuting nurses who quit their jobs could set a bad precedent.

Prosecutors say the nurses' resignations -- without notice -- on April 7, 2006, jeopardized the lives of children at Avalon Gardens in Smithtown, where some of the patients are on ventilators and required constant monitoring.

None of the patients suffered ill effects, but an indictment alleges the nurses knew their sudden resignations would make it difficult to find replacements. Their trial is scheduled to begin Jan. 28.

The nurses claim that they were sent to work at facilities they never signed up for, and made to perform tasks they deemed demeaning and below their job descriptions. There were also disputes about scheduling and pay. Sixteen other nurses and one physical therapist also walked off the job at other facilities, but they were not charged because they did not care for terminally ill children.

Lawyers for the 10 nurses say one of the nurses remained on-duty when resignation letters were submitted. They insist that the nurse -- Ramos -- stayed four hours past the scheduled end of her shift to ensure that the patients received proper care.

The nurses contend they are facing prosecution because influential Democratic officials -- Sen. Charles Schumer and Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota -- took interest in the case at the behest of an attorney for Sentosa Health Care, which operates Avalon Gardens.

The defense has asked Gov. Eliot Spitzer to appoint a special prosecutor, a request being considered in Albany.

"If I could get a special prosecutor, I have no doubt that this case would be dismissed in a heartbeat," said defense attorney James Druker, a former federal prosecutor who represents all 10 nurses. "I just want somebody fair and independent."

Spota opposes a special prosecutor and insists he exerted no special influence on the case.

"Their reason for asking for a special prosecutor is they say I have a close personal, political and financial relationship with the owners of Sentosa," Spota said. "Wrong. I don't have any relationship."

The case also has attracted attention in Manila, where hearings in the Senate and House of Representatives were held last month.

After the nurses complained they were being mistreated, a suspension order was issued against a Sentosa Health Care affiliate in the Philippines. But the suspension was later lifted, and the nurses believe that decision was politically motivated because Schumer got involved.

He sent letters in June 2006 to the Philippines Overseas Employment Administration and the Philippines Labor Secretary, and later to Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, asking that they meet with Sentosa representatives and then "take any actions that you consider appropriate."

The POEA head, Rosalinda Baldoz, said the dismissal of the nurses' complaint was not the result of political influence.

Defense attorneys noted that Schumer's Long Island finance chairman, attorney Howard Fensterman, also represents Sentosa. Fensterman's office referred calls to a public relations representative, who derided the allegation.

"This is on its face and in its substance a pathetic smokescreen to divert attention from the fact that 10 nurses got up and left pediatric patients on ventilators in a deliberate act of labor sabotage," said Gary Lewi, speaking on behalf of Fensterman and Sentosa.

Schumer said the letters were the result of his efforts to ease the nationwide shortage of nurses and to seek due process on behalf of a New York company. He said they had "no connection whatsoever" to political donations made by Sentosa executives.

"There are many times that a company will call us up and say a foreign country is treating it unfairly. I regard it as part of my job to help New York companies," he said.

Defense attorneys say they are perplexed why the case is proceeding to trial because two separate state-agency investigations cleared the 10 nurses. Spota said the legal standards for a prosecution differ from those of the state agencies.

He said the nurses and their attorney had the chance to tell their side at a grand jury proceeding -- an unusual event in a misdemeanor case -- but all declined to testify.

Ramos and the other nurses have since found employment elsewhere. She works at Stony Brook University Hospital, also on Long Island, but still tears up with emotions at the prospect of being criminally prosecuted.

"It's really devastating for us. ...How can it happen in America?" she said.

-- Associated Press Writer Tess Cerojano in Manila contributed to this story.

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v. c. wrote on Feb 22, 2008 8:16 AM:I understand from there point of view beacuse i use to work for a doctor and there was alot of races and alot of miss treating in the clinc, but it is hard becausre these were young children that needed speacial attention. I hope they can get a good and fair trial because i think its work to get miss treated at or from an employer.

lr wrote on Feb 22, 2008 8:58 AM:Not because in the Philippines, it can be done where nobody care; it does not mean it can be done here in the US. What a poor judgement and they are nurses?

Shielea wrote on Feb 22, 2008 10:21 AM:The prosecution is setting a dangerous precedent here. If they prosecute these women for quitting their jobs based solely on the types of patients they were providing care for then nurses in general will be reluctant to care for those who are terminally ill or in need of around the clock care.

I'm glad no harm came to the children but I really can't blame the nurses for quitting if they had filed a claim for mistreatment and it was ignored. If these nurses had worked in family practice and quit there would be no story. I do think, however, that they could have gone about it in a different way and possibly found replacements before leaving.

debbie wrote on Feb 22, 2008 12:39 PM:I am a RN in Ohio. It is not the nurses responsiblity to "find replacemnets" for their jobs. That would be the HR dept. of the company. It would also be the companies responsibility to call in agency nurses to cover the open shifts. The nurses finished their shifts and reported off to the oncoming shifts. I work at a hospital where the nurses are represented by our union and would never work in a facility where there was not union representation. -

Tedd wrote on Feb 22, 2008 2:15 PM:I'm on the nurses side, sometimes you have to take drastic measure to get people to listen. The children's lives were not in danger, they had one staff nurse working, and they also had the capability of calling in for more nursing help as a result of the missing nurses. The nursing home is retaliating against the nurses, and if they stayed any longer the nursing home would have made their tarnished their good record. I've seen to many over worked nurses in my day, so I support the nursing staff.

Tedd wrote on Feb 22, 2008 2:38 PM:It's not about being a Filipino. The issue these people are having isn't the first time, it's been an ongoing problem with nursing homes that don't want to pay for some reason or another for more nurses. Avalon Gardens could have easily called several nurse agencies to get nurses in with in the hour maybe even less, and Avalon Gardens would have had to pay those nurses more money and had more restrictions for the use of those nurses, they didn't choose that route, and that is consistent with other nursing homes and the problems that the Filipino nurses are having. I'm not Filipino, and I've seen all this happen to every one. They are being targeted.

Heidi wrote on Feb 22, 2008 3:32 PM:Most States have an "Employment at Will" laws, employers or employees can terminate the job at anytime, I am surprised this didn't come up

maleak wrote on Feb 23, 2008 7:37 AM:I agree with debbie and tedd. I would also add, for them to face criminal charges for leaving their job, is just unamerican. It's like the slave who left the plantation. He/she would invariably face being whipped; and that's what's going on here. It's just another sign that we need change in America.

scott wrote on Feb 23, 2008 9:23 AM:As a RN, this kind of corporate corruption in health care in very common. This is why nurses are joining unions to fight for safe patient care and better working conditions. I hope they countersue the employer. If the company was so concerned about patient safety, the company would HAVE NEVER HAD JUST ONE NURSE on duty for 10 patients.

Bob wrote on Feb 23, 2008 10:18 AM:I agree with the nurses. I doubt that the pediatric patients were in any real danger as a result of the nurses quitting. The employer knew in advance that this could happen and should have been prepared with extra help waiting. That is not the fault of the nurses that the employer didn't do a better job of providing for the patients in their care. It definitely looks like it is politically motivated to me and would set a very bad precedence if allowed to proceed to trial.

Kris wrote on Feb 25, 2008 9:19 AM:Walking off of the job in the middle of a shift and quitting a job after the shift has been completed and the assigned patients were handed off to the next shift of nurses are two different scenarios. If the latter was what actually happened, criminal charges should never be imposed on any nurse or caregiver, as it is the facility's responsibility to ensure proper staffing. Nurses are humans too, they get sick, their children get sick and have to call out of work at the last minute often, but are all of these nurses being held on criminal charges in doing so? I don't think so! This is pure ignorance. Every commentor above has probably had the freedom to not show up to work and quit without notice, and not go to jail as a consequence. Nurses do it all of the time, too. Why is this group being targeted? And, having first-hand experience in this, where is the protection of nurses? Why aren't labor laws being enforced in this profession? Next time you visit a hospital or long-term care facility, why don't you ask a nurse if they've eaten or sat down for more than 5 minutes in a 12-hour shift, how often they have used the bathroom?

eligma wrote on Feb 27, 2008 12:17 PM:As an RN, i truly believe that the ratio for pt care should be addressed as an issue... We are not super to be having too much load of pts that would intimately endanger not only the lives of the pt but also the employee. Nursing is a Calling, It is the responsibility of the institution to have enough staff. Put yourself in the situation of the nurses. 10 sick ,critical pts to one nurse. Is it Safe? And being in a situation of working beyond the parameters of nursing is a different issue. God does not sleep and Justice will always remain. I think these Nurses deserve to be treated just!

voughne wrote on Mar 9, 2008 7:54 PM:TO Ir:

“Not because in the Philippines, it can be done where nobody care; it does not mean it can be done here in the US. What a poor judgement and they are nurses?”

… Such a careless statement. Dear, this is what you call a “poor judgment”. The nurses made an action witch have professional considerations. It’s their right. Besides, its cause and the consequences of the latter events should be subjected to the agency which is responsible for the suspicious work contract. Legal wise, there is nothing wrong with what they done.

jette wrote on Mar 11, 2008 12:02 AM:ofcourse they are also human, they are not robots! they have to be treated well, how can you love your job if you are being treated that way? how can you become an effective nurse? remember people, its all about give-and-take. they are professionals, they worked hard to get that degree... passed the board exams... and all of that.respect is the word... they are not slaves. The problem is not the nurses... it's the institution!

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