(C) Iowa Capital Dispatch.
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Board: Iowa nurse and underage patient exchanged 25,000 phone calls and texts

['Clark Kauffman', 'More From Author', '- December']

Date: 2021-12-21 00:00:00


The Iowa Board of Nursing has suspended the license of a nurse accused of engaging in more than 25,000 phone calls or text messages with an underage patient.

The board alleges that Michael Schleicher of Fairfield was working as a nurse practitioner at an unspecified Iowa hospital from August 2014 to January 2020, during which time he treated a female minor identified in board records only as “Jane Doe.”

The board accused Schleicher of beginning to contact the girl by phone and text message in 2016, when the girl was still a minor. In 2017, while the girl was still a minor, he and the girl allegedly engaged in more than 17,000 contacts, including 3,000 phone calls that the board says took place after midnight.

In 2018, when the girl was 18, the two allegedly had 8,500 contacts, including 1,000 phone calls that took place after midnight. At some unspecified point in time, the board alleges, the two engaged in a sexual relationship.

The board charged Schleicher with initiating a sexual, emotional or social relationship with a patient; committing an act that may adversely affect a patient’s psychosocial welfare; and engaging in behavior that is contradictory to professional decorum.

As part of a settlement agreement in the case, Schleicher has agreed to the indefinite suspension of his license. Before applying for reinstatement, he must complete a three-day instructional course on professional boundaries and ethics and undergo a comprehensive mental health exam.

Schleicher continues to deny the board’s allegations, according to the suspension order, and as part of the formal, written agreement with the board, he has stated that he entered into the settlement only to avoid the burden and expense of contesting the matter.

Other nurses who have recently been sanctioned by the Iowa Board of Nursing include:

— Heather Spidle of Winterset, who was accused of having marijuana and drug paraphernalia in her home when it was searched by police in March 2019. At that time, Spidle allegedly admitted using marijuana and methamphetamine. In order to resolve the case, Spidle agreed to voluntarily surrender her nursing license.

— Shawna Rainbolt of Burlington, who was accused of stealing narcotic pain medication intended for residents of the unspecified care facility where she worked in 2019. To resolve the case, Rainbolt agreed to have her license placed on probation for one year, during which time she must agree to refrain from using alcohol or illicit drugs, submit to random drug screening and submit to a substance abuse evaluation. In 2018, the board alleged that on multiple occasions, while working at an unspecified Iowa care facility, Rainbolt had signed out controlled substances that were never documented as having been administered to the patients. The 2018 case was resolved with the board ordering Rainbolt to take 30 hours of classes in the proper documentation of medical care.

— Brenda Huseman of East Dubuque, who was accused of treating patients in an unsafe manner while working at an unspecified community health clinic from January 2020 through May 2020. According to the board, Huseman unnecessarily prescribed high doses of a diuretic to a patient; prescribed the drug digoxin for an infection instead of the intended medication, doxycycline; failed to assess and provide follow-up care for patients receiving anti-coagulant therapy; failed to properly treat diabetes by prescribing the wrong dose of Ozempic; failed to refer a patient to the emergency department despite “significant clinical factors” suggesting that was warranted; prescribed opiates and other drugs simultaneously, increasing the risk of harm to those patients; and failed to monitor her patients’ use of controlled substances. The board suspended Huseman’s license for six months. She has agreed to submit to one year of having her practice monitored.

— Neva Summerfield of Dunlap, who was accused of committing an act that could adversely affect the health of a patient. According to the board, while working at an unspecified care facility in October 2020, Summerfield failed to obey a physician’s order that a resident of the care facility be taken to the emergency room of a hospital, and also failed to inform the physician of the patient’s status. The board ordered Summerfield to take a five-hour course on professional accountability and legal liability.

— Melissa McSparen of Ankeny, who was accused of failing to properly assess or evaluate a patient. The board alleged that on July 26, 2020, while working for an unspecified home health care company, McSparen failed to assess a patient’s catheter line even after the patient complained of pain and an inability to lift his or her arm. On that same day, McSparen allegedly failed to assess a patient who reported having experienced a seizure. State records indicate there has been a settlement in the case, but that agreement has yet to be published by the board.

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