By Thea Jarvis

In a statement released the day after Christmas, St. Joseph’s Hospital of Atlanta acknowledged that a nurse on duty in the intensive care unit intentionally gave an unauthorized, excessive dose of medication to an 87-year-old, ventilator-dependent, terminally ill patient on Dec. 15.

Staff physicians dealing with the case do not believe the excessive medication bore any relation to the cause and time of the patient’s death Dec. 16, which took place after respirator support was withdrawn at the direction of the patient’s family, the hospital statement said.

The nurse involved was terminated by St. Joseph’s and three other employees were suspended based on their alleged knowledge of the incident.

On Dec. 24, in a summary suspension order made available by Secretary of State Max Cleland’s office, the Georgia Board of Nursing identified the nurse as Carol Ann Freeman Griffith of Acworth.

The board plans a hearing March 10 to investigate assertions that Ms. Griffith administered unauthorized does of potassium to the patient and later admitted she did so with intent to cause death.

The Fulton County District Attorney’s office is also investigating the incident.

“We are conducting an inquiry,” District Attorney Lewis Slaton told The Georgia Bulletin in an interview Dec. 27. Following the inquiry, he said, “there might be some criminal negligence” cited.

Slaton said he was not free to discuss particulars of the case, but did say that “To a certain extent I’m confirming what St. Joseph’s is saying” with respect to initial findings.

St. Joseph’s notified the district attorney’s office after their own preliminary investigation and indicated the hospital was fully prepared to assist Slaton’s office. The hospital also contracted the Georgia Board of Nursing following the incident.

Hospital spokesperson Von Roebuck said St. Joseph’s continues to have the highest confidence in its staff and reported no backlash from families of patients in care there.

Citing policies on confidentiality, Roebuck indicated the hospital would not confirm the names of either the nurse or patent although both were reported by local news media.