An intensive care nurse in Miami, Florida, has been fired from her job after she shared images of a baby with birth defects on Instagram, in violation of a patient’s privacy.
Sierra Samuels, who was a nurse at Jackson Memorial Hospital, allegedly posted the images of the baby without permission and against rules for staffers last month, before she was fired.
According to 7News Miami and CBS4 Miami, the infant had been born with a condition where the intestines are outside the body, known as gastroschisis.
Ms Samuels allegedly wrote that her “night was going great then boom”, along with an image of the baby on her Instagram.
She added that “Your intestines [are supposed] to be inside not outside baby”, and shared a second image of the baby, it was alleged.
The hospital, where Ms Samuels has worked since 2016, said it terminated her contact following the Instagram posts and her violation of patient privacy.
“Employees who violate these privacy rules, despite being educated, are subject to disciplinary action including suspension or termination,” said Jackson Memorial Hospital to CBS4.
“As soon as we learned of this potential breach, we immediately placed this employee under administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.”
It was also believed that Ms Samuels breached the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which prevents healthcare professionals from sharing personal health details without permission.
