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Department of Public Health urges revocation of lapsed RN and APRN licenses in Moshe disciplinary hearing
Summary
At a March 18 administrative hearing, the Department of Public Health urged revocation of Tabitha Moshe’s lapsed RN and APRN licenses, citing admitted recordkeeping failures and mental-health concerns; the panel moved into executive session to consider sensitive evidence.
Attorney Joel Newton for the Department of Public Health recommended revocation of respondent Tabitha Moshe’s lapsed RN and APRN licenses during an administrative hearing before the Board of Examiners for Nursing on March 18.
The department’s opening summarized two central issues: that Moshe experienced an emotional disorder or mental illness in mid-2022 and that she admitted failures to maintain required treatment records. "The department feels that under the circumstances that revocation would be the only remedy that would make sense," Attorney Joel Newton told the panel.
The hearing, convened at 10:39 a.m. and presided over by board member Lis Freeman, is based on Department of Public Health petition numbers 2022-995 and 2022-996 and is held under Chapter 54 of the Connecticut General Statutes, the Uniform Administrative Procedure Act and Department of Public Health regulations. The chair explained the panel’s role is to prepare proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law for the full Board of Examiners for Nursing; the department bears the burden of proof by a preponderance of the evidence.
Moshe, who identified herself as the respondent and was placed under oath, said she acknowledged a lapse in recordkeeping but denied unprofessional patient contact. In an opening statement she said her failure to keep treatment records resulted from "extenuating circumstances," that she has been undergoing treatment, and that she has taken steps to prevent a recurrence.
On direct examination about recordkeeping, Moshe said the lapse occurred during an exceptionally heavy patient load in which another provider left and her duties increased. She said she was ill with a bad cold and flu and did not see some manager messages while she was unwell. Moshe described procedural remedies she has implemented at subsequent employment, such as mail checks and electronic alerts.
Panel counsel and the department clarified that because both the RN and APRN licenses lapsed in December 2022, the board cannot place a lapsed license on probation (there is no monitoring mechanism); the board’s available sanctions are limited to reprimand, civil penalty, or revocation. Attorney Newton stated that, given the department’s view of the evidence in the exhibits and Moshe’s admissions, revocation was the appropriate remedy to pursue, while noting Moshe could apply to the department for reinstatement in the future.
Before the panel could continue with discussion of the respondent’s emotional-health evidence, the department requested an executive session. A motion was made and seconded to move into executive session to discuss mental-health-related matters; the panel voted in favor, the video recording was stopped, and the meeting proceeded to a private executive session while the transcript continued to include an executive-session label.
No final disciplinary decision was announced during the public portion of the hearing. The panel’s next procedural step will be to consider evidence (including what was discussed in executive session) and issue proposed findings and a memorandum of decision for the Board of Examiners for Nursing. The hearing record includes Department exhibits (investigative report dated Oct. 17, 2022; police reports; Genesis HealthCare correspondence; medical records) and a respondent statement entered as Respondent's Exhibit A.
