"my third Daisy nomination, and I'm feeling a certain way"
A magnet(tm) certified hospital in Colorado is going on trial this summer in federal court for violating the civil rights of a Black nurse.
“This matter is set for a seven-day Jury Trial to commence on August 11, 2025 at 8:30 a.m. on the docket of Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney, Alfred A. Arraj U.S. District Courthouse, Courtroom A702, 7th floor, 901 19th Street, Denver, Colorado, 80294.”
This case was first reported in 2022 here at DailyKos by @Lauren Sue - 'It’s wild': Black nurse sues hospital after she was targeted with unjust criminal charges
DonQuenick Joppy was a staff RN in the Critical Care/Trauma Unit at The Medical Center of Aurora (TMCA). She experienced escalating harassment from 2017 to 2019, “designed to marginalize, segregate and undermine her based on stereotypical and harmful views of Black professionals.”
The lawsuit further claims, “TMCA unlawfully denied Ms. Joppy training and transfer opportunities, refused to investigate her complaints of race discrimination, placed her on an unwarranted Performance Improvement Plan (“PIP”), isolated her from colleagues, then ultimately terminated her employment because of her race and because she engaged in protected activity.”
The Denver Post reported that “a pattern of discrimination by the hospital ultimately caused her to be prosecuted for manslaughter in the death of a 94-year-old patient in 2019. The criminal charges, brought by the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, were later dropped at the prosecution’s request “in the interest of justice,” a motion to dismiss shows.”
This news struck me a certain way, as it came around the same time that a jury in Tennessee found a former nurse guilty of negligent homicide and abuse of an impaired adult in the horrific December 2017 death of Mrs Charlene Murphey at Vanderbilt Medical Center.
Prominent nursing organizations and nurses rushed to defend the former nurse. They expressed outraged that a “medication error” could lead to criminal charges, and said she fell victim to “systemic errors” and other pressures that cause nurses to fail.
But a closer look at the evidence presented to the jury and the relevant law they were instructed to apply makes it clear that her nursing practice was inexcusably negligent.
The most pressing question is: where are those same nursing organizations and high profile nurses now?
Looking at the many press releases, social media posts, webinars, online fundraising and outpouring of support that the former nurse continues to receive, and she even collects speaker fees , it’s hard not to wonder: Is this just another way that racism shows up in nursing?
ANA Senior VP Dr Katie Boston-Leary has observed that “Black nurses don’t get the same grace” when it comes to learning and practice. The nursing leaders, educators, clinicians and others participating in a “powerful and action-driven forum dedicated to tackling racism and advancing equity in nursing” now confront an existential choice:
- bravely stand up and support Nurse DonQuenick Joppy in meaningful ways and according to what she says she needs, or
- remain frightened, silent and hidden behind the shield of “most trusted profession.”
TMCA’s elite magnet™ designation from the American Nurses Enterprise is supposed to be certified proof of “the very best care, delivered by nurses who are supported to be the very best that they can be.”
TMCA also claims to embrace of the Daisy way of positive recognition that “contributes to a healthy work environment” — FWIW DonQuenick earned Daisy recognition 3 times in less than 18 months
Learn more about the case and its context in contemporary nursing culture in this video series
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