BRN outlines enforcement, adjudication and probation rules; public raises concerns about records and testing access

Board officials on Feb. 26 delivered a detailed overview of the Board of Registered Nursing’s enforcement and adjudication processes and answered questions about the public posting of discipline records, testing and travel options for nurses under probation or the intervention program.

Tim Bunder, deputy chief over discipline and probation, told the board that enforcement begins when the board receives a complaint — which can come from arrests flagged by the Department of Justice, healthcare facilities, other licensing agencies or members of the public — and that investigations follow with either desk or field work. He outlined the path from substantiated investigation to referral to the Attorney General’s office; possible pleadings include accusations, statements of issues or petitions to revoke. He said most cases settle rather than go to hearing; settlements can include probation with monitoring, education requirements or cost recovery. “Protecting the public is paramount,” Tim said, framing how the board determines appropriate discipline.

Bunder described the board’s use of 820 mental or physical examinations when there is reason to believe a nurse cannot practice safely. He said the executive officer has authority to order such exams, and that exam results are confidential unless an accusation based on unsafe practice is filed. He said the board sometimes signs final orders but that defaults and voluntary surrenders may be handled administratively.

In public comment, an attorney identified in the transcript as Matthew A alleged that the board had produced unredacted confidential intervention-program documents in response to a public-records request and had not notified affected participants. He said he received hundreds of pages that included participant names and sensitive statutorily confidential information and that the BRN “refused to notify participants” after the production. Matthew said he had returned the documents and declined to disclose them, and invited others to contact his law office to see whether their names were disclosed.

Board counsel Reza Pejuhesh responded in the meeting. Reza said the production error was inadvertent and occurred while the board’s substitute counsel handled a request during a leave of absence. He told the board the records were being reviewed in batches and redacted appropriately; he said the individual who received the unredacted files had promptly returned them. Reza said the board was investigating whether a disclosure notice should be required and invited the commenter to speak to counsel directly.

Separately, the board heard public comment from probation and intervention participants about the distance required to travel for drug testing (participants said some test sites are more than an hour away for rural residents) and about the indefinite public posting of old, expunged or dismissed convictions in online license lookup tools. A public commenter asked whether the board could apply a “current standard” retroactively to older cases; board and legal staff replied that changes to record-retention and public posting would require statutory or policy changes and that some federal reporting requirements are permanent.

On testing and travel, Bunder and enforcement staff reported that Vault (the board’s testing contractor) has hundreds of collection sites statewide but that distance and rural access are recurring complaints. The board recently transitioned to a new vendor, Premier, which continues the contract with Vault; staff said Premier will work with Vault to expand site availability. Staff also said saliva/oral-fluid testing is part of the intervention program and is under active review for probation, including DNA verification and chain-of-custody safeguards, and that their contract allows saliva testing subject to security and validation measures. International travel raises additional issues such as whether testing requirements are tolled while a participant is out of the country.

Board members asked about how enforcement postings and record retention work. Tim explained the board’s public posting schedules: board actions such as public approvals are removed after three years from date of compliance, probation documents remain for 10 years after probation completion, and revocations or surrenders are posted indefinitely. Tim stressed that files reported to the National Practitioner Data Bank are permanent and federal law requires indefinite retention.

The discussion prompted board members and staff to say they would consider further, narrowly tailored agenda items on record retention policy and on improving access to testing for rural licensees. Counsel and staff recommended staff follow up with the commenter about the PRA disclosure error and continue their review of public-records processes.