Begley Comments on Nurse Conviction

In response to the criminal conviction of nurse RaDonda Vaught, AONL CEO Robyn Begley, DNP, RN, who is also chief nursing officer of the American Hospital Association, issued a statement on Monday. “The verdict in this tragic case will have a chilling effect on the culture of safety in health care,” it read. “The Institute of Medicine’s landmark report To Err Is Human concluded that we cannot punish our way to safer medical practices. We must instead encourage nurses and physicians to report errors so we can identify strategies to make sure they don’t happen again.” Begley thanks the many AONL members who voiced their support of the statement. Vaught’s prosecution stemmed from a fatal drug error in 2017. (AONL news release, 3/29/2022)