By Bonnie Phillips
The Board of Examiners for Nursing on Wednesday revoked the licenses of three nurses and disciplined six others.
The board revoked the registered nurse (RN) license of Charlene Zikaras of Milford for continuing to practice as a nurse after being told to stop by the state. Zikaras, who worked at the Stamford Ambulatory Surgical Center, had her license placed on probation for four years in December 2018 for alcohol abuse and was required to submit urine screens. On April 22, Zikaras’ urine tested positive for alcohol and on May 3 she was told to refrain from working as a nurse. Zikaras went to work on May 8, the Department of Public Health (DPH) reported.
Dana Zordan of Rocky Hill had her RN license revoked for opioid and excessive use of amphetamines, according to the board’s memorandum of decision.
The RN license of Brian Gross of Feeding Hills, Mass., was revoked after finding that he failed to submit urine tests required when his license was placed on probation for alcohol abuse in November 2018. Under the terms of his probation, Gross was required to undergo weekly urine screens. Gross failed to submit urine screens when asked on six different days in May, according to DPH.
The licensed practical nurse (LPN) license of Daisy Acosta of Waterbury was reprimanded and placed on probation for one year for a number of violations. According to the consent agreement, Acosta, who worked for All About You Home Care Services in Naugatuck, improperly accepted money from the parents of a patient she was caring for; failed to accurately document the patient’s medical records; signed documents saying she visited and medicated the patient on a day when the patient was not at home; and failed to notify her supervisor that the patient had been diagnosed with pneumonia and had been prescribed antibiotics.
The board suspended the LPN license of Renee Cottrill of Portland for three months and placed her license on probation for four years for abusing marijuana, benzodiazepines and/or alcohol. According to the signed consent order, she must undergo counseling and therapy for the length of the suspension, refrain from using controlled substances, and undergo random urine tests.
The board placed the LPN license of Stacey Thompson of Milford on probation for one year for failing to perform CPR on a patient in a timely manner. Thompson was working at St. Camillus Rehabilitation & Nursing Center in Stamford when a patient “became pulseless and without respiration” on Feb. 16, 2018. Although the patient had an advanced directive and a physician’s order which required life-sustaining treatment, Thompson failed to perform CPR in a timely manner, the consent agreement said. Thompson is required to attend and complete coursework on advanced directive policies, procedures and practice standards.
The RN license of Rafael Diaz of Suffield was reprimanded and he was fined $1,000 for failing to disclose a previous consent order under which his emergency responder license was placed on probation for four years for substance abuse including alcohol, cocaine, marijuana and MDMA. In settling that case, Diaz voluntarily surrendered his EMR certificate on Sept. 29, 2014.
The RN license of Adrienne Ziemkiewicz of Shelton was reprimanded for failure to properly administer medication as required by a physician’s order. Ziemkiewicz was working as a school nurse at Long Hill Elementary School in Shelton in March 2018 and received a doctor’s order to administer eye drops every two hours to a special needs child, but failed to administer the eye drops from March until June 4, 2018, the consent order said. Ziemkiewicz successfully completed coursework in critical thinking, medication safety, medical error reduction, intellectual disability health care needs, medical documentation and nursing scope of practice.
The board also banned RN Tammy Meyer of Portage, Indiana, from practicing nursing in Connecticut after she was disciplined by the state of Wisconsin for alcohol abuse.
The Connecticut board can impose discipline on a nurse licensed in Connecticut if the nurse has been disciplined in other states.
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