Operation Nightingale: Inside a Multi-State Nursing Fraud Investigation

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

The purpose of this podcast is to educate and inform. It does not provide legal advice. It does not create an attorney-client relationship. While the host is not a lawyer, the content is overseen by licensed counsel. If you need help with a legal matter, you should always consult with a qualified attorney.

SPEAKER_02 0:15

If you’re a licensed healthcare professional and you’ve been following headlines around Operation Nightingale, you may be wondering how does something like this actually unfold from a regulatory standpoint? This is Now Your Regulator. I’m your host, Simone Murfrey, and today we are taking a closer look at how these large-scale healthcare investigations like Operation Nightingale actually unfold across states, what patterns regulators are looking for, and what licensed professionals should know about how these cases develop. I’m joined by Dr. Cambria Nuosu, a doctor of nursing practice and legal nurse consultant, to help us walk through it. She has extensive experience in healthcare systems, clinical documentation, and understanding the complexities of large-scale investigations like Operation Nightingale. So I am excited to hear her break this down for us. Dr. Nuosu, thank you so much for joining me. Thank you so much for having me. This is a great discussion. Absolutely. So let’s kind of set the stage for our listeners. For those who may not be entirely familiar with Operation Nightingale, can you kind of briefly explain what is going on and from your perspective, what is making this situation so significant in healthcare?

SPEAKER_01 1:27

Absolutely. So Operation Nightingale, just for background, was a federal enforcement action. It uncovered a large-scale nursing diploma scheme involving several Florida-based schools. So between the years of 2016 and 2021, these schools issued thousands of fraudulent diplomas and transcripts, reportedly over 7,000 that allowed these individuals to qualify for the licensure board exam, which we call the NCLEX in nursing, and without completing the required education. So that’s red flag number one right there. So while this is viewed from the outside looking in as like a fraud case, what it really exposed from my point of view are the significant gaps in how credentials are verified across the healthcare system. Um, because these breakdowns didn’t happen at just one point, right? They happen at multiple levels. So it’s interesting that to this day we’re still exposing, unfortunately, these individuals in multiple states as we are trying to get more information on where they’re working, was there any patient harm, things of that nature? So it’s still ongoing.

SPEAKER_02 3:10

Yeah, no, we are in in Texas, we’re still seeing cases be investigated by the Board of Nursing, which means that these individuals have, like you said, had licenses and been able to care for you or your loved ones without you really knowing um what their uh that their credentials have been actually verified. So yeah, absolutely. You know what you’ve seen in healthcare and legal consulting, how do investigations like Operation Nightingale typically unfold across multiple states? I mentioned Texas, but you and I know that this is not just a Texas issue or a Florida issue. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 3:50

And I’m generally there’s always a trigger. So the triggers could usually be a complaint, an audit, or some type of broader investigation. Specifically for Operation Nightingale, this started with an audit. One of the schools in Florida, their board. So most schools, especially that are accredited, they have to have their students pass the boards at a certain percentile. And this particular school was not meeting that percentile in multiple years. So that’s what triggered the audit, and that’s kind of how that came about. So usually, again, those are the three most main avenues. And then from there, employers may take action. The boards are either notified directly or they initiate their own review. And each state, of course, evaluates independently. There is a separate board for each state, which means clinicians can end up dealing with multiple investigations at the same time if they hold licenses in more than one state. And majority of nurses do hold licensures in different states because of our compact agreements. So a lot of this happens behind the scenes, unbeknownst to the clinician involved at first. So it can feel sudden to them, um, even though it’s been developing for some time in the background.

SPEAKER_02 5:15

We definitely see that over here. That sometimes it, like you said, it seems very emergent, very sudden to the license holder, but the agency themselves, they’ve had noticed they’ve been working on things and kind of gathering some evidence. When we’re talking about a large-scale investigation like this, can you talk to us a little bit about how these agencies talk to each other? How does this information get moved to, you know, like we we’ve got Florida nurses, we’ve got Texas nurses, and then we’ve got a federal investigation overall. How are these agencies, you know, learning about this information and sharing this information?

SPEAKER_01 5:57

Yeah, I mean, for the something this large, obviously, it can move through several channels. Usually it’s through the employers themselves, so different hospitals. A lot of the ones that I’ve seen are long-term care facilities. So it depends on the avenue, but you’ll see different employers starting to talk to each other. Then the actual federal investigation itself, those agencies are now discussing and sharing information with either the boards and or the employers themselves to try to get more information. In large-scale operations like this, I’ve seen in reporting that the boards are receiving these information mostly from the external sources, then identifying it independently. So they are relying on the information from the employers, from the federal investigators to strengthen their case before they even approach the clinician. So it’s it’s it’s really kind of like a triangle effect, especially when we know that this is something on a board level, um, especially if it’s a state. Not all not all states have the compact license, which means that if you’re, I would give an example, New York. New York is not part of the compact. So if you’re licensed in New York, that is the only state you can stay licensed. You would have to physically go to another state and get licensed there. So that’s a little bit more contained, but some but a state like Florida, which is part of the compact, now you most likely are communicating with 40 other boards because you can practice in any other state that’s part of this licensure compact. So it’s it’s really interesting that um you really have to just understand the schematics of who’s involved and then start narrowing down okay, where are these individuals employed? Okay, now let’s start doing audits and starting talking to those employers as well. So that’s usually what I’ve been seeing in a lot of the results that’s been coming about.

Red Flags Regulators Keep Seeing

SPEAKER_02 7:59

When the, like you said, there’s so many moving parts to this that, yeah, you really do have to understand who’s involved, who has jurisdiction, who is, you know, in charge of this or owns this process or owns this verification, yeah, it it can’t get really complicated. Correct. When situations like this are uncovered, though, what are some of those common patterns or like the common red flags that show up in these investigations?

SPEAKER_01 8:26

Yeah, so based on the publicly reported cases that I’ve seen, the recurring patterns, I believe one of them really is a big one on reliant reliance on documentation without thorough primary source verification. So that means credentials are accepted without fully confirming where and how they were obtained. So that’s a big one. Another one that I saw is the involvement of non-traditional or third-party pathways that don’t follow the standard accreditation process. I mean, the red flag here in Operation Nightingale, you know, these transcripts and diplomas were bought outright, you know, for tens of thousands of dollars. That’s not normal process. You go to you go to nursing school, you know, you pay the tuition, you pay the fees, you pay for your books, um, and you go through the classes and then you sit for your exams. So that was a red flag as well. Um, and then overall, I think what stands out is that again, I have to emphasize this multiple times that the breakdowns are happening at multiple levels, right? Not just with the individuals themselves. So within the systems, they’re supposed to catch these issues early. And they’re not that’s not happening. So I guess the bigger question is why, right? So um I think that’s the biggest red flags and patterns we’ve seen across the board when it comes to this particular situation.

SPEAKER_02 9:56

Just like you and I had spoken about before, we had talked about, you know, sometimes there are these individuals who who did seek those, you know, alternative pathways to education and to licensure. And to your point, even if they hadn’t known, which we’ve talked about, that there should be some red flags that you, as the license holder, would know that you would need to satisfy. But at that point, they may have not reached the point of of obtaining their license. They they may have had a point where, okay, we got to go back and we need to check this, these different boxes or check this off. Um, but like you said, that didn’t happen. So yeah, it’s it’s curious where where are those breakdowns and how many of them are there? Because yeah, it’s it is a long process. There’s a lot of different agencies involved, and it may not be just one. Correct.

SPEAKER_01 10:52

And I think, like I said, I think for people that are listening, just from an educational standpoint, you know, what’s often highlighted and what’s the biggest trend is just the gaps in verification process and the over reliance of just documentation. Oh, here’s a piece of paper, I’m good to go. No, you in hiring and credentialing, you should have a standardized process where you are verifying everything. And so that creates vulnerabilities, right? If systems are not consistently doing the verification at every step. And that’s what we’re seeing. So, and this is why this got so big for so long.

How A Board Investigation Starts

SPEAKER_02 11:29

And kind of taking a deeper look at the investigation, and this is where licensed professionals probably have some of their biggest questions. Um, one of them is probably how does an actual board investigation begin in a situation like Operation Nightingale? And I think you kind of touched on it earlier with the employer, and then that information travels. Can you talk to us a little bit more at a state level? What are these initial stages? What should license holders kind of look for and what do they need to be aware of?

SPEAKER_01 12:03

So board investigations traditionally don’t usually start with the board itself. There’s always some type of trigger, as we spoke before, an employer report. The employer themselves reported this person to the board. There’s usually either a complaint of some sort or multiple complaints about the same issue, or information just coming from a larger investigation, like we’ve been discussing on this uh call here. So once the board is notified, you know, they are obligated, they have to open a case and start investigating and gathering information. And again, that’s the behind-the-scenes work that we’ve been discussing. That process alone takes time. They have to do their due diligence to even understand is this worthy of an active investigation or is this something where, you know, this person just needs to be notified. Hey, this is what’s going on, and this is how we’re going to act about it. I think in the biggest piece, again, the board themselves are usually unaware unless someone contacts them. Someone or something has to trigger them even stepping in. So they’re usually often responding to information coming from external sources rather than them poking around and trying to investigate. It’s just they don’t, that’s just not how they operate. That absolutely makes sense.

SPEAKER_02 13:26

And I don’t think they have time for that. You know, they’re no they’ve got this is the board of nursing we’re talking about. Yeah. Correct. And and it it’s it is a lot. Like we said, I think we talked about 7600 or over around 8,000 licenses. So if you can imagine, listeners, you’re an agency and you have an influx of thousands and thousands of investigations that you have to take a look at. And like you said, determine if you have jurisdiction, determine if or what violations you know may have occurred, and and having the evidence to back that up too. So it is a long process for that is correct.

SPEAKER_01 14:07

And like to your point, for something to scale, right? Now every single person is being investigated individually, as opposed to just the one issue or the one hospital involved. And this person, nine times out of ten, are you know practicing across state lines. They’re also practicing across multiple facilities at the same time. It’s very rare that a nurse, as an example, is usually at one facility. If they if they can multitask, they will. So, yes, to your point, it can become massive. And again, the board is only so many personnel. They don’t have thousands of investigators at their beck and call. So I think this is why that’s the piece that I keep counting back. That that’s why it takes time. Because now every single person involved, depending on their pathway of how they got to that point, now have to have a full investigation that’s non-biased, that is fact-based, that is rooted in evidence, like all of that matters. Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 15:09

Yep. And like we’ve been talking about, it all takes time. Time for it.

SPEAKER_01 15:13

Yeah, yes, exactly.

SPEAKER_02 15:16

So as we come to a close, what should licensed healthcare professionals understand about Operation Nightingale and how these investigations progress once they’ve started? What would be one of the biggest things, I guess, that you would want them to know and understand?

SPEAKER_01 15:34

Yes. So I think again, I will emphasize this again. One of the biggest misconceptions is that these processes are immediate or very obvious. Like it’s glaring in your face, you’re, you know what’s coming. In reality, these things are developing quietly in the background before you are even aware. So there is also a belief that lack of intent means there won’t be consequences. And that is not always how the board evaluates these situations. To your point before, Simone, just because you weren’t aware or you didn’t know, ignorance is not a defense. As a professional, you should know the pathway on how to obtain a license, how to maintain a license, and how to be an upstanding professional in that profession. So I also would like to mention that as a licensed professional, there is a high expectation that you understand the legitimacy of your credentials and the systems you’re operating in. It’s not my job, it’s not your job. Like it is, it is your um role to make sure you should know that wait a minute, I shouldn’t be purchasing a degree for$10,000 outright. But I know I didn’t go through clinicals, I didn’t pass anatomy and physiology as an example. Like there’s certain things that it’s just common sense, but clearly in this case, not the case. Um, and then and once a regulatory process, such as a board investigation or federal investigation, begins, things can escalate quickly. So, because at the end of the day, especially when it comes to healthcare, we’re talking about patients at the end of the day. Now it’s a patient safety issue. Things are going to escalate quickly. So those are the biggest things I really want professionals to know that you have to um remember we’re dealing with human lives. This is not a game. It shouldn’t be ever taken as a joke. You have to understand how and why you got there and how to maintain that status.

SPEAKER_02 17:43

So yeah, no, that’s something we preach all the time is that you are a professional. It is your license, it is your responsibility to know what you need to do to obtain it and maintain it as well, because it’s not just a one and done here. This is not the only time that you’re going to be engaging with your agency. So absolutely. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 18:05

And I think what I really want professionals, and again, this is outside of healthcare, is this any professionals that have to deal with a regulatory body, you just have to understand how important it is to understand how your licensure works, how the systems work, and then of course, how quickly things can escalate once a regulatory process begins. Um, I I always make sure that I tell nurses um, above all, make sure you have malpractice insurance. You know, you shouldn’t be walking into any type of regulatory proceeding or process and you don’t have competent counsel with you. So it’s just things like that matter. And I think people under, you know, they always have this mindset that it won’t happen to me. Oh, it’ll never be me. You know, you just never know. So I think it’s just important to arm yourself with that information and know what the process looks like.

SPEAKER_02 19:04

Absolutely. Know your regulator, you know. Yes, know your regulator, exactly. Yeah. Well, thank you so much, Dr. Noah Soup, for joining me today and really just kind of breaking down how something as large scale as Operation Nightingale starts, progresses. I mean, we are still, this is six years into seven years into things now. So um, yeah, it is a very large-scale major investigation. Thank you for breaking down how something complex like this can happen.

SPEAKER_01 19:38

Absolutely. And this is such a great conversation and topic. So I’m hoping the listeners, your listeners, learn something new or learn something on what not to do. But um, yeah, I think it’s important that we just keep educating. And I think once we continue to keep the word out there and just know where the resources are, um, hopefully we’ll be in a better state. But yeah, it’s a great conversation. Thank you so much for having me.

SPEAKER_02 20:03

To our listeners, you can learn more about Dr. Nuosu and the legal services and support that she offers by visiting the links below in the description. It’s all about understanding the systems that you operate in and recognizing how large scale investigations like Operation Nightingale can unfold. When you understand the process, you are way better equipped to navigate it. Until next week, stay inspired and continue engaging with your regulatory agency.

SPEAKER_00 20:32

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