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Nurse asks hearing officer to lift Connecticut suspension, cites New York letter of good standing
Summary
At a Connecticut Department of Public Health hearing, a nurse whose education includes Medlife sought removal of a summary suspension on her RN and APRN licenses, saying she provided truthful information and submitted a New York board letter to show her licenses are in good standing; the record remains open for late-filed evidence.
A nurse under a summary suspension urged a Connecticut hearing officer to reinstate her RN and APRN licenses and remove discipline, telling the panel she provided truthful information on her Connecticut licensure application and submitted a letter from the New York licensing board to support her claim.
The nurse, who testified as the respondent, said she applied for licensure by endorsement in Connecticut online and believed at the time that the information she provided — including education from Medlife — was accurate. "I did what I was supposed to do ... I still went ahead and pursue my career further till today and I need to get credit for that," she said in explaining why she asked the officer to restore her licenses without discipline.
The hearing record includes a New York letter offered as Exhibit H that the respondent said indicates her New York registration is "active" and in good standing; she and counsel said they would attempt to obtain an updated New York closure letter and a similar letter from Florida to submit as late-filed exhibits. Counsel and the hearing officer set a plan for handling those filings and potential follow-up questioning.
Panel counsel questioned whether the New York letter explicitly documents opening or closing of an investigation into the Medlife program; the respondent said the hospital conducted an internal review and asked affected nurses to seek proof of clearance, and she had not received a separate disciplinary notice from the New York licensing board beyond the good-standing letter on file. The hearing officer denied a motion to strike portions of testimony during that exchange, saying, "I am denying the motion to strike."
Counsel discussed remediation options in the event the hearing officer found gaps in the respondent's academic or clinical record resulting from the Medlife matter. The respondent said education programs she approached to fill any gap had sometimes declined to enroll her because she already held advanced degrees, including a BSN and a master's.
The respondent confirmed she still holds active licenses in New York and Florida and said she renewed her New York registration; counsel agreed to seek and, if obtained, file updated license letters as late exhibits. The parties tentatively set March 27 for submission of late-filed exhibits and gave attorneys until March 31 to indicate whether they would seek additional testimony; the hearing officer also proposed a 30-day window for simultaneous closing briefs with 15 days for rebuttal if the record did not require reconvening.
The hearing was adjourned with the record left open for the additional exhibits. The Department of Public Health will consider the submitted letters and any further testimony or briefing before issuing a recommended disposition on whether the summary suspension will be lifted.
