UMC says inspectors found no violations after travel nurse expressed concerns about Covid-19 patient care
EL PASO, Texas -- University Medical Center disclosed Monday that inspectors with Texas Health and Human Services conducted an unannounced visit to the hospital in the wake of concerns expressed by a traveling nurse - but found no violations.
Lawanna Rivers had said she believed UMC did not do enough to help critically ill Covid-19 patients.
"If those doctors there would aggressively treat those patients from the beginning, a lot more would make it," she said in videotaped comments that went viral on social media.
A UMC spokesman said the inspectors conducted interviews with staff and reviewed hospital records. He said they found no violations to substantiate the observations made by Rivers.
“Unfortunately, the views expressed by this travel nurse who worked briefly at our hospital caused many people in our community and media to rush to judgement about the accuracy of what was being expressed,” said Ryan Mielke, who heads UMC's public affairs office.
