Connecticut nursing board grants three summary suspensions after emergency motions

The Board of Examiners for Nursing, meeting Feb. 19 under the Department of Public Health, voted to add three summary-suspension motions to the agenda and then approved summary suspensions for three registered nurses, the board chair said.

The board added the three summary-suspension motions to the agenda by motion of Mary Dieteman, seconded by Sal Diaz; the board approved the agenda addition by acclamation. Attorney Alina Bricklin Goldstein, assistant attorney general, and department counsel presented the department—s motions and legal citations, including Connecticut General Statutes cited by department counsel in support of emergency action.

The board then heard and acted on each motion in turn. Cynthia Arpin moved and Mary Dieteman seconded the motion to grant the Department of Public Health—s motion for summary suspension for Aja (Asia) Dodwell, RN, petition number 2024-1607, on the ground that the respondent represented a clear and immediate danger to public health and safety if allowed to continue practicing; the board took a roll call and approved the motion. The board granted the department—s motion for summary suspension for Emily J. Nagelgafft, RN, petition number 2024-235, after the respondent sought a continuance that the chair denied; Mary Dieteman moved and Cynthia Arpin seconded that motion, and a roll call vote approved the suspension. The board likewise granted the department—s motion for summary suspension for Kalina M. Beckford, RN, petition number 2024-1608; Mary Dieteman moved and Elizabeth (last name on file) seconded and the motion passed on roll call.

Board chair Gina Reiners reminded members that, in considering a summary suspension, the board must find that "the respondent represents a clear and immediate danger to the public health and safety if allowed to continue the practice of nursing," language staff and counsel repeated while presenting the department—s material. For one respondent, Emily J. Nagelgafft, the record shows the respondent joined the virtual meeting and said she had limited time to obtain counsel after receiving notice late on Friday and over a holiday weekend; the chair explained that if a license were summarily suspended the respondent would be prioritized for a hearing on the statement of charges at the board's next available meeting and could request a continuance from the public health hearing office.

The board also approved routine business earlier in the meeting, including the minutes for the Feb. 5 regular meeting; the minutes passed on roll call with one abstention from a member who said she was not present at the prior meeting.

Nut graf: The board's actions put three nurses on immediate summary suspension and illustrate how the licensing board uses summary-suspension authority when the Department of Public Health presents evidence that continued practice poses an immediate public-safety risk. Respondents affected by summary suspension retain the right to a subsequent hearing on the statement of charges and may seek continuances through the public health hearing office.

Context and next steps: The department presented allegations in each case (packets are part of the public record) and asked the board to summarily suspend the respondents pending hearings. The board stated that summarily suspended registrants are typically prioritized for the next available public hearing; the chair and assistant attorney general advised the respondents on scheduling procedures and how to seek counsel before any evidentiary hearing.

Ending: The board did not vote on the underlying statements of charges at the Feb. 19 meeting; those matters are to be scheduled for hearing by the public health hearing office, and respondents or their counsel may raise scheduling requests or other procedural questions through that office.