Richard Pieri says he forgot he was on-call when he went out and drank approximately five beers.
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Plains Twp- A registered nurse assisted with an emergency surgery while under the influence of alcohol at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, police said. He said he had forgotten he was on call until his pager went off, they said.
A VA spokesperson said Pieri has been removed from any direct patient care while the criminal case and investigation continue. “We want to make sure our patients are safe”.
Richard Pieri is charged with recklessly endangering another person, driving under the influence and public drunkenness.
Pieri allegedly stumbled into the hospital after being caught on video surveillance crashing his truck into a median in front of the medical center, the newspaper reports.
Court papers say Pieri wasn’t acting himself that night, had trouble logging into a basic computer system, didn’t log the time of the operation correctly, and showed other signs, too.
Pieri’s role during the procedure, according to WNEP, was to prepare the patient and the operating room and to monitor the patient’s vital signs.
As soon as “we were notified of the event”, VA Medical Center executive assistant to director William Klaip told WNEP, stating that, “Patient safety is paramount”.
“I get really good care up there”, Stanley Bilwin told the news station. “They cured cancer, I got a hernia done, a lot of stuff”. A summons was issued Monday, but an official with Magisterial District Judge Joseph D. Spagnuolo Jr. said Pieri will not be required to appear before a judge until a preliminary hearing slated for March 29.
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The patient’s name was not available, but an affidavit stated the patient had to be readmitted after the surgery for stomach pain.
