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Board moves to executive session in disciplinary hearing for nurse Juliet Cole
Summary
Members of the state nursing licensing board voted to convene an executive session to consider sealed exhibits and confidential health information in a disciplinary proceeding involving registered nurse Juliet Cole, whose Connecticut license is listed inactive after a lapse in renewal, a Department of Public Health witness said.
Members of the state licensing board overseeing nursing licenses voted to go into executive session during a disciplinary hearing about registered nurse Juliet Cole to consider sealed exhibits and confidential health information, the board announced during the proceeding (date not specified).
The matter concerns allegations the department said involve substance use and practicing while impaired. Department counsel told the board the department’s exhibits are confidential and under seal and said the Department of Public Health would call witnesses, including a licensing manager who confirmed the respondent’s Connecticut registration had lapsed.
The hearing record shows Attorney Fezzina, representing the Department of Public Health, described allegations that include “alcohol and marijuana” use and asserted the department would present evidence that the respondent had practiced while impaired; Fezzina said department exhibits were marked confidential and under seal. The department called Steven Carragher, identified in the record as manager of the practitioner licensing program at the Connecticut Department of Public Health, who testified he is custodian of licensure records and that Cole’s Connecticut registration (license number 189460) is “inactive, lapsed due to nonrenewal with the indication of prior discipline.” Carragher told the board, “The license expiration date is 08/31/2024, and the license remained active 90 days following that,” after which it updated to inactive.
Juliet Cole, who the transcript identifies as the respondent, gave testimony in which she denied practicing while impaired. In her opening statement she said, “I never practice impaired,” and later testified about her recent work history: she said she last practiced in Rhode Island the week of the hearing, that she has been licensed in Rhode Island since February 2019, and that she currently provides nursing care to a disabled child in a school setting beginning in September 2024. Cole also testified she worked at Stonington Institute in July 2024 and that she stopped practicing in Connecticut after her Connecticut license was suspended.
After the department called its witness and said it planned further questioning tied to confidential material in department exhibit 2, a board member moved that the board convene in executive session to discuss sensitive personal health information. Mary Dieteman made the motion and Sal seconded. The board took a roll call; the record shows votes of “aye” from Cindy, Sal, Mary Dieteman, Lisa, and Gina Reiner. The motion carried and the board prepared to move into executive session to review the sealed exhibits and related testimony. The transcript indicates technical steps were taken to move participants and for the respondent to rejoin via phone so she could be present for the executive session.
The transcript excerpts provided end with the board moving participants toward the executive session; no public-action outcome or final disciplinary decision is recorded in the provided portion of the hearing.
