
Nurses and other staff members who mocked patients in a TikTok video at an urgent care clinic in Santa Barbara, California were placed on leave and then fired.
In a statement on Wednesday, Sutter Health, which owns Sansum Clinic, wrote on social media: “Sutter Health has terminated the employees responsible for the inappropriate and insensitive photos posted on social media. This unacceptable behavior is an outright violation of our policies, shows a lack of respect for our patients and will not be tolerated.”
Sutter Health has terminated the employees responsible for the inappropriate and insensitive photos posted on social media. This unacceptable behavior is an outright violation of our policies, shows a lack of respect for our patients and will not be tolerated.
Protecting the…
— Sutter Health (@SutterHealth) September 4, 2025
Nearly a dozen staff members at a Sansum’s urgent care clinic appeared in a TikTok video that went viral over the Labor Day weekend.
The video shows the staffers mocking their patients who underwent Pap smears and other exams. Some of the staffers are shown pointing to stains on an exam table paper and making faces.
One of the video captions read: “Are patients allowed to leave you guys gifts?”
An employee wrote: “Guess the substance.”
Another caption read: “Make sure to leave your healthcare workers sweet gifts like these.”

In a previous statement on Tuesday, Sutter Health said the person who uploaded the video to TikTok left the company in July.
That former employee deleted her TikTok page after the video went viral, sparking outrage on other social media platforms.
The ex-staffer previously shared a photo of a toilet stall splattered with feces with the caption, “A great way to start my shift,” according to the Santa Barbara Independent.
“If that is what they post publicly, imagine what goes on privately,” one person wrote on Reddit.com.
Does professionalism not exist anymore pic.twitter.com/MIg91S8lR5
— Washingtons ghost (@washghost1) September 2, 2025
As a doc who worked for @SutterHealth for 20y, I am DISGUSTED by the shameful, unprofessional behavior of multiple @sansumclinic staffers. THEY ALL MUST BE FIRED.@WarnerLThomas do the right thing before SH’s reputation becomes irredeemable.
— Crow coins (@PerfectFitFarm) September 2, 2025





