State Reprimands Former York Correctional Nurse, Disciplines Five Others

A former head nurse at York Correctional Institution has been reprimanded by the state Board of Examiners for Nursing for failing to properly care for an inmate who suffered a serious brain injury while in the prison medical unit in 2014. In the Niantic prison case, the board Wednesday also placed the registered nurse license of Mary Howe of Griswold on probation for three years and barred her from working in a clinical care setting for the first two years of the probation, a consent order she signed with the board said. Howe was also ordered to take courses in ethics, delegation of nursing duties, professional nursing standards, documentation and “empathy and compassion in nursing,” the order said. In signing the order, Howe did not contest the allegations against her but admitted no wrongdoing. In May 2017, a UConn Health spokesman said Howe no longer worked for the UConn Health unit that provided medical care in the prison.

State Disciplines Three Nurses, One Former Nurse

The Board of Examiners for Nursing disciplined three nurses and one former nurse last week for cases involving drug use, theft, deceit and mental illness. After a hearing last Wednesday, the board voted to revoke the registered nurse license of Ryan Buynicki of Agawam, Massachusetts, who, records show, stole Dilaudid in 2015 while working at Osborn Correctional Center in Somers. Buynicki also stole controlled substances from five patients in the prison infirmary in 2015 and falsified controlled substance records, according to the statement of charges against him by the state Department of Public Health. The board also found that his use of controlled substances was affecting his ability to practice a nurse, the statement said. The board issued a cease and desist order against Lisa Piatak of Shelton to stop practicing nursing without a license.

State Disciplines Eight Nurses

The state Board of Examiners for Nursing on Wednesday disciplined eight nurses, including seven for cases involving the theft or abuse of drugs and alcohol. The board revoked the registered nurse license of Enrique Lopez of Washington Depot, finding that between September and December, while working at Life Spring Home Health Care of Waterbury, he took a drug used to treat panic attacks from patients, records show. He also failed to properly document medical records and falsified a drug record, state Department of Public Health records show. From June to November, he also took an anti-anxiety drug from a patient and offered to pay the patient’s cable bill in return for the drug, records show. The board also found that Lopez made inappropriate comments or had inappropriate physical contact with a patient, records show.

State Disciplines Four Nurses

The Board of Examiners for Nursing on Wednesday disciplined four nurses, including three for their abuse of alcohol or drugs. The board suspended the registered nursing license of Lori Riley of Sharon after finding that she posed a clear and immediate danger to the public. Records show that in 2015, while working for All About You Homecare in Torrington, she took Percocet meant for a patient, replaced it with Tylenol and falsified the patient’s medical record. From 2014 to 2016, Riley abused Percocet, Oxycodone and Vicodin, records show. This past January, she signed a plan to enter a confidential rehabilitation program, but records show she failed to comply with the program or begin outpatient treatment for substance abuse.