Florida Nurse Fired For Posting Infant With Birth Defects In Neonatal Intensive Care

A nurse in Florida has been fired after sharing photos of an infant with birth defects on Instagram.

Sierra Samuels was fired from Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami on Thursday, weeks after the facility learning she shared the graphic images of a baby who was born with gastroschisis, a birth defect in which a hole in the abdominal wall causes the intestines to be on the outside of the body, on social media.

The hospital first learned of the post on Sept. 8 and placed Samuels on administrative leave pending an investigation into privacy violations.

Samuels reportedly shared the images of the infant with birth defects to her Instagram Story. “My night was going great then boom,” she wrote followed by a photo of the newborn.

“Your intestines posed to be inside not outside baby!” Samuels wrote along with the hashtag “gastroschisis.”

A representative for the Jackson Health System insisted action was taken to reprimand Samuels once they discovered she shared patient information on social media.

“Employees who violate these privacy rules, despite being educated, are subject to disciplinary action including suspension or termination,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

“As soon as we learned of this potential breach, we immediately placed this employee under administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation. Protecting the privacy of our patients is always a top priority at Jackson Health System. Any potential privacy breach is taken seriously and thoroughly investigated.”

Samuels began working for Jackson Health System in 2016 as a nurse in the neonatal intensive care unit at Jackson Memorial Hospital.