Texas Children's Hospital Fires Nurse Who Posted About Boy With Measles

A nurse at Texas Children’s Hospital has been discharged after she posted information on social media about a boy who tested positive for measles, hospital officials said Tuesday afternoon.

The hospital took the action four days after learning Friday of the nurse's posts on Facebook. The boy, who is between 1 and 3 years old, was treated at the hospital's west campus in the Energy Corridor.

"We were made aware that one of our nurses posted protected health information regarding a patient on social media," Texas Children's said in a statement. "We take these matters very seriously as the privacy and well-being of our patients is always a top priority. After an internal investigation, this individual is no longer with the organization.

The nurse has not been involved in patient care since Friday, according to the hospital.

The nurse posted about the child on an anti-vaccination group's Facebook page called Proud Parents of Unvaccinated Children-Texas, according to screenshots of posts obtained by The Houston Chronicle.

It's not clear whether the child was vaccinated for the measles virus. The boy had recently traveled overseas, Houston Health Department officials said in a Facebook post Monday night.

The nurse, who listed Texas Children's as her workplace on Facebook, described her experience seeing a child with measles for the first time.

“I think it’s easy for us nonvaxxers to make assumptions but most of us have never and will never see one of these diseases," she said. "By no means have I changed my vax stance, and I never will. But I just wanted to share my experience and how much worse it was than I expected."

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