Accused nurse gives up license
By MELISSA VARGAS
Star-Telegram staff writer
http://www.star-telegram.com/metro_news/story/176365.html
The state Board of Nurse Examiners has suspended the license of a
52-year-old vocational nurse who is under investigation by police in
North Richland Hills and Granbury in connection with injuries to
children in his care.
What's new
Adler Joseph Champagne of Fort Worth has not been arrested, police say.
However, days after a June 23 report in the Star-Telegram detailed
allegations against Champagne, the board called an emergency meeting to
suspend Champagne's license temporarily, and he voluntarily surrendered
it July 10, said the board's general counsel, Dusty Johnston.
The telephone listed for Champagne's Fort Worth address has been
disconnected.
According to the suspension order, the board made these accusations
against Champagne:
On Feb 9, Champagne is accused of injuring a 12-year-old Granbury boy,
who has the mental capacity of an infant, by bathing him in water hot
enough to cause second-degree burns on his legs. Champagne did not seek
immediate care for the child's injuries and did not document his blisters.
Between April 9 and April 12, Champagne is accused of puncturing a
1-year-old child's eye with a sharp object in North Richland Hills.
On Oct. 12, 2006, Champagne was temporarily assigned to Kindred Hospital
in Fort Worth and injected himself with morphine while on duty, he later
told authorities.
What happened
Champagne had been employed by Epic Med Staff for about five months
before he was sent to work as a home healthcare nurse at foster parent
Jeri Copeland's North Richland Hills home.
On April 9, Copeland was in another room when she heard the severely
disabled 1-year-old scream suddenly. Copeland rushed to the child to
find Champagne in the doorway and the child in bed with blood pooling in
her eye and seeming to come from her ear, Copeland said. An
ophthalmologist later determined that the girl's eye had been punctured
four times with a sharp object. Despite surgery to repair the child's
eye lens, she has permanent damage, Copeland said.
Copeland also found a child with a black eye after being in Champagne's
care, she said. Child Protective Services took her children away because
they believed she may have violated rules by leaving them alone with a
home healthcare nurse. Copeland began to investigate and learned that
Champagne had been under suspicion before.
Police confirmed that two months earlier, Champagne was suspected of
running scalding bath water over a severely handicapped 12-year-old
boy's legs.
Further investigations revealed that in October 2006, while employed at
Nurse Staffing in Fort Worth, Champagne "was witnessed sleeping while on
duty" and acting disoriented after injecting himself with morphine.
The future
Copeland has employed a lawyer and plans to challenge the removal of her
foster care license and try to get some of her foster children back, her
lawyer's paralegal Julie Cobb said. Police say the allegations against
Champagne are still being investigated.
Champagne will be eligible to apply in July 2008 to have his license
renewed, Johnston said.
msanchez@star-telegram.com
Melissa Vargas, 817-685-3888
CURRENTLY CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES VIOLATES MORE CIVIL RIGHTS ON A
DAILY BASIS THEN ALL OTHER AGENCIES COMBINED INCLUDING THE NSA / CIA
WIRETAPPING PROGRAM....
CPS Does not protect children...
It is sickening how many children are subject to abuse, neglect and even
killed at the hands of Child Protective Services.
every parent should read this .pdf from
connecticut dcf watch...
http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com/8x11.pdf
http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com
Number of Cases per 100,000 children in the US
These numbers come from The National Center on
Child Abuse and Neglect in Washington. (NCCAN)
Recent numbers have increased significantly for CPS
*Perpetrators of Maltreatment*
Physical Abuse CPS 160, Parents 59
Sexual Abuse CPS 112, Parents 13
Neglect CPS 410, Parents 241
Medical Neglect CPS 14 Parents 12
Fatalities CPS 6.4, Parents 1.5
CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES, HAPPILY DESTROYING HUNDREDS OF INNOCENT
FAMILIES YEARLY NATIONWIDE AND COMING TO YOU'RE HOME SOON...
BE SURE TO FIND OUT WHERE YOUR CANDIDATES STANDS ON THE ISSUE OF
REFORMING OR ABOLISHING CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES ("MAKE YOUR CANDIDATES
TAKE A STAND ON THIS ISSUE.") THEN REMEMBER TO VOTE ACCORDINGLY IF THEY
ARE "FAMILY UNFRIENDLY" IN THE NEXT ELECTION...
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