A Saskatchewan nurse is required to pay a $26,000 fine imposed on her in relation to her 2015 Facebook post which criticized the end-of-life care her grandfather received.
In the lengthy post, Carolyn Strom accused nurses at St. Joseph’s Health Facility in Macklin, Sask., of making “Grandpa’s last years less than desirable,” asking them to “Please Do Better Next Time!”
The nurse was reprimanded by the Saskatchewan Registered Nurses’ Association (SRNA) for professional misconduct and handed a $1,000 fine plus an additional $25,000 to cover some of the investigation and hearing costs.
Strom appealed stating her right to a freedom of expression and the $25,000 fee the association requested she pay.
In a written decision released Wednesday, the judge stated “I have concluded that the committee’s decisions fall within the leeway that the law allows the committee, and so the decisions stand. The appeal is dismissed.
A Go Fund Me campaign titled Support Nurses Right To Speak Out! raised $27,000 to help cover the costs, with co-nurses commenting the reprimand taken by the association left nurses feeling like they have no voice.