Nurse accused of killing patient continued working at another Lexington hospital until arrest
LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - The nurse accused of murdering a patient by ‘intentional medical maltreatment’ was working at another Lexington hospital up until her arrest.
A grand jury indicted 52-year-old Eyvette Hunter on Monday. She’s accused of killing 97-year-old James Morris. Hunter was a nurse at Baptist Health Lexington at the time.
A report states she gave Morris a drug he wasn’t prescribed. According to a report, Hunter’s actions directly caused Morris’ death.
She was fired from Baptist Health the day the incident happened back on April 30.
We’ve confirmed Hunter also worked at UK Hospital. UK officials say she continued to work at UK Hospital as a travel nurse, up until her arrest on Tuesday.
A UK spokesperson released this statement:
Ms. Hunter was not a UK employee but had been placed at the University as a traveling nurse by an outside placement agency. Our understanding is that she was suspended by the Kentucky Board of Nursing on Monday and the University only learned of the suspension Tuesday. UK HealthCare immediately released her from her duties upon learning of the suspension and indictment.
Hunter was not an actual UK employee. She was placed there by an outside agency, Health Carousel Travel Network. Health Carousel released the statement about the situation:
“We are saddened by the recent tragedy and we send our thoughts and condolences to Mr. Morris’ family and friends. The incident took place at Baptist Health Lexington where Ms. Hunter took employment on her own and separate from Health Carousel. After we were informed of the incident and subsequent decision from the confidential board investigation, Ms. Hunter was immediately released from her duties with our company.”
According to the Kentucky Board of Nursing’s disciplinary process, nurses under investigation are allowed to keep working with the details of the investigation staying confidential until the resolution of the investigation. The policy does say the board is able to confirm whether or not someone is under investigation if an employer asks.
The policy also says that in “rare” cases the board can take unilateral action to immediately suspend a license to “protect the health and safety of the public.”
We spoke with the executive director of the Kentucky Board of Nursing who she told us the temporary license suspension order issued for Hunter on Monday, was an “immediate suspension order.”
According to Hunter’s license suspension order, the board began investigating on May 5 after they were notified by Baptist Health about what happened with Morris.
The board finished their initial investigation on June 14 and sent it to Hunter for a response. On August 5, Hunter responded to the board and admitted to giving the drug to Morris without an order. However, Hunter’s actual suspension order wasn’t issued until August 22, the same day she was indicted.
The Kentucky Board of Nursing executive director wasn’t able to give us any other details since the case is still under investigation.
The UK spokesperson tells us they are not aware of any incidents involving Hunter during her time at UK.
Hunter is being held in jail on a $100,000 bond.
Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact Lexington Police by calling (859) 258-3600. Anonymous tips can be submitted to Bluegrass Crime Stoppers by calling (859) 253-2020, online at www.bluegrasscrimestoppers.com, or through the P3 Tips app available at www.p3tips.com.
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