CHICAGO, IL – Nurse Jamie Inspira was suspended from Atlantic Memorial Hospital last week. In a report that was just made public, it was stated that Nurse Inspira, RN continually charted respiratory rates (RR) of 16 for all of her patients.
“Even patients that are on a full ventilator with respirations programmed at 19, she charted a 16,” her supervisor commented to GomerBlog. “It was obvious she had never stopped to count.”
When GomerBlog reached out to Jamie to ask what she thought about the allegations she responded she felt like every “normal” patient should just be a 16. “I mean, who has time to sit there and count for a full minute, I have turkey sandwiches to deliver.”
“All that matters is that they are breathing, no matter the rate, at least one breath.”
The error was discovered during a Code Blue for one of Inspira’s patients. During the code, she charted a RR of 16 yet failed to mention that these breaths were through an Ambu bag and were not generated by the patient. After further investigation, Inspria’s patients all had a charted respiratory rate of 16 throughout the last 26 years of her career. Until the recent Code Blue, this was never an issue nor an odd number, not once.
Disciplinary action has begun and Inspira will be suspended until the investigation is completed. In the meantime, 6 other nurses have been put on temporary probation after finding respiratory rates never differ from the normal 16. Administrators posted many jobs with specific requirements: must know how to count respirations. So far, no applications have been turned in.
