State of Oklahoma ex rel. Protective Health Services State Department of Health v. Bernadine Vaughn

Summary

The Oklahoma Supreme Court held that a certified nurse aide's photocopying and disclosure of a resident's medication records to the EEOC did not constitute misappropriation of resident property under the applicable federal and Oklahoma laws and regulations. The court vacated the Court of Civil Appeals' opinion, reversed the district court, and directed removal of the misappropriation and abuse findings from the Oklahoma Nurse Aide Registry.

Holdings

1. Photocopying pages of a resident's medication record and providing the copies to the EEOC did not constitute misappropriation of resident property under the federal definition because the term "belongings" denotes movable items, not an intangible property right in medical information.
2. Vaughn's disclosure of resident medical information to the EEOC was not a transfer of resident property under OAC § 310:677-1-2 because the disclosure did not sever or remove the property or a property right from the resident or Epworth Villa.
3. The cited Oklahoma statute did not expressly require that a finding of misappropriation of resident property be placed on the Nurse Aide Registry, and the court would not insert that requirement into a penal statute subject to strict construction.

Questions Presented

1. Whether photocopying a resident's medication record and providing the copies to the EEOC constitutes misappropriation of resident property under the federal nurse-aide-registry provisions.
2. Whether the photocopying and disclosure constituted a transfer of resident property under the Oklahoma Administrative Code's definition of misappropriation.
3. Whether Oklahoma law required the Department to place a finding of misappropriation on Vaughn's Nurse Aide Registry record.
4. Whether the ALJ's order was legally erroneous or exceeded the Department's statutory authority.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded