22 active RNs and LPNs in Georgia who obtained their nursing diplomas illegally have been ordered to surrender their nursing licenses.
The Georgia Board of Nursing sent letters to the 22 nurses on January 17, ordering them to surrender their licenses in 30 days, according to WSB-TV.
Three nurses who worked at the VA Hospital in Atlanta were relieved of their duties. Their licenses are revoked even if they decide not to surrender them to the state nursing board.
“It’s concerning and alarming,” said Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in a statement to WSB-TV.
Raffensperger’s office oversees the Georgia Board of Nursing, located in Macon, Ga.
“Our job is to make sure that our people in Georgia, our patients know they have credentialed nurses that are practicing there,” Raffensperger said.
The 22 RNs and LPNs are among thousands of nurses who paid $15,000 for bogus nursing degrees and transcripts that allowed them to sit for the nursing board exam, referred to as NCLEX (National Council Licensure Examination).
Witthaya Prasongsin / Moment
About 2,800 people — or 37 percent — passed the grueling exam which takes 5 hours to complete with 2 optional breaks in between.
Those who passed the exam received licenses that enabled them to work in hospitals and other health care facilities around the country.
The FBI arrested 25 people in connection with the diploma mill that sold over 7,600 fake nursing diplomas for $15,000 each.
Among those charged was Stanton Witherspoon, a New Jersey resident who conspired with three now-shuttered Florida nursing schools involved in the scam.
The feds say Witherspoon and his accomplices — nursing school directors and administrators in Florida and New Jersey — raked in $114 million selling fake nursing degrees.
A reporter with 6abc News who went to Witherspoon’s New Jersey home was told the Liberian media mogul couldn’t speak without his attorney.
The defendants face charges of wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy which carries a 20-year sentence if convicted.
26 active registered nurses and LPNs in Delaware had their licenses annulled, according to the Delaware Board of Nursing.
“All of us feel this is egregious,” said Dr. Pamela Zickafoose, the Executive Director of Delaware’s Board of Nursing.
“These people who went to these Florida schools did not complete the curriculum, the clinical training that is required of all nurses to be eligible to be licensed as a nurse,” said Dr. Zickafoose.
“We are deeply unsettled by this egregious act,” Delaware Nurses Association President Stephanie McClellan said in a statement. “We want all Delaware nurses to be aware of this active issue and to speak up if there is a concern regarding capacity to practice safely by a colleague/peer. This act is not a representation of our code of ethics and standards of practice nor our commitment to patients and our community.”
Florida nursing leaders assured patients that they can have confidence in the health care system because safeguards are in place to detect bad nurses.
“We can have some confidence in the way the system is set up in that you have multiple caregivers caring for you in any given period,” said Willa Fuller, the executive director of the Florida Nurses Association.
The feds are working closely with state nursing boards around the country to weed out fraudulent nurses who took shortcuts to obtain their nursing degrees illegally.
“When we talk about a nurse’s education, and credentials, shortcut is not a word we want to use,” said Markenzy Lapointe, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida.
