A nurse has landed herself in hot water after she posted confidential information about a patient with measles in an anti-vaccination group on Facebook. The medical professional's comments were later discovered by another user on the social media site, who alerted the hospital where she worked. Brittany Bailey has since been fired from her job as a pediatric nurse, and the woman who exposed her slip on Facebook explained that she took action because "it is terrifying that in the pediatric ICU, [they] have an anti-vax RN employed."
According to a series of Facebook posts in the group Proud Parents of Unvaccinated Children-Texas that have since been deleted, self-described anti-vaxxer and pediatric nurse at Texas Children's Hospital's Intensive Care Unit, Brittany Bailey, revealed that she had been treating a toddler with measles — a rare infection.
"For the first time in my career I saw measles this week," she wrote. "And honestly, it was rough. This kid was super sick. You couldn't touch him with him crying/moaning in pain."
The Houston Chronicle reported that the boy was between 1 and 3 years old and confirmed with the Houston health department that he contracted the infection while overseas.
"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," Bailey continued.
Bailey, whom it appears has since hidden or deleted her Facebook account, added that "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.
“Seeing it made me a little more humble and maybe a little more understanding. I’ll continue along my little non-vax journey with no regrets, but I’ll definitely have more compassion to those who vehemently vaccinate,” she concluded.
The nurse also joked with another member of the group in the comments that she had "considered swabbing [the boy's] mouth and bringing it home to my 13 [-year-old]," a practice known as “natural immunization," where some believe that exposing themselves or their children to disease is a better immunization than a vaccine. But not everyone took Bailey's comments lightly.
User Caelen North caught the nurse's comments on Facebook and was immediately alarmed. "It is terrifying that in the pediatric ICU, you have an anti-vax RN (Britney Bailey) employed. My immunocompromised child needs to be protected from vaccine preventable diseases," she wrote.
She was also alarmed by Bailye's comments about trying to give the infection to her child and made the point that "not only has this nurse observed how awful Measles is, she admits to wanting to take a swab from a measles-inflicted child and spread it throughout the community. My child could die if he was ever unfortunate enough to have this nurse care for him.
"This is EXACTLY why Measles is making a comeback," she addd. "There are entire facebook groups in Texas trying to get a sample of this child's measles so they can arrange a measles party (purposefully exposing children to measles for 'natural immunity.')"
North then posted screen grabs of the conversation to the Texas Children's Hospital Facebook page, and The Houston Chronicle noted that officials took four days after seeing the message to fire Bailey.
In a statement given to the paper, a spokesperson for the hospital explained that they had fired Bailey for leaking personal information about the patient not necessarily her anti-vax views:
"We were made aware that one of our nurses posted protected health information regarding a patient on social media. 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.”
Measles is a highly contagious viral disease that can be deadly if left untreated. According to the World Health Organization, "Measles is transmitted via droplets from the nose, mouth or throat of infected persons. Initial symptoms, which usually appear 10-12 days after infection, include high fever, a runny nose, bloodshot eyes, and tiny white spots on the inside of the mouth. Several days later, a rash develops, starting on the face and upper neck and gradually spreading downwards."
The health agency also made the point that "it is far more likely to be seriously injured by a vaccine-preventable disease than by a vaccine."
On Facebook, North followed up with her original post and wrote that she was "relieved" with how quickly the hospital took action. "I speak for every parent whose children have been treated by TCH when I say THANK YOU."