Originally Posted - June 25, 2006

return home

When a nurse employed at Palm Garden of Largo Convalescent Center in Largo, gave an interview last March to CNN about the conduct of Michael Schiavo towards his ward and wife, she didn't expect that her nursing license would be placed in jeopardy or that her First Amendment rights would be violated.

When legal counsel for Gov. Jeb Bush asked Carla Iyer to give an affidavit to aid in the Governor's defense of Schiavo's lawsuit against him challenging the constitutionality of Terri's Law, she didn't expect retaliation by a state agency against her that would result in the revocation of her nursing license and single her out for speaking out against Michael Schiavo.

Although the Florida Department of Health has claimed that there is no probable cause to discipline Michael Schiavo for submitting a fraudulent application for guardianship and falsifying his academic credentials, according to an administrative complaint and proposed settlement agreement served upon Carla Sauer Iyer, a former caregiver of Terri Schiavo, DOH is seeking to permanently revoke Iyer's nursing license and impose administrative costs not to exceed $1,683.49.

Iyer is battling back and says that the public had and continues to have a right to know what the real truth is in the Terri Schiavo case. And, she says she had a legally and constitutionally protected right to express her opinions and discuss what was already at matter of public record.

DOH would like her to voluntarily relinquish her license without challenging their determination because she conducted an interview on CNN, discussing what had already been a matter of public record for over 1 ½ years.

At age 26, Terri Schindler Schiavo had incurred brain damage as the result of a still unexplained collapse at her home on Feb. 25, 1990, which resulted in oxygen deprivation to the brain of four to six minutes. After his initial attempts to kill his wife failed by attempting to deny her medical treatment, Michael Schiavo then sought court permission to end her life by the withdrawal of her feeding tube claiming she was in a persistent vegetative state. Her parents disagreed and fought to save their daughter's life, resulting in contentious court battles which resulted in Terri's death on March 31, 2005 with the withdrawal of her feeding tube for the third and final time.

Iyer had been employed as the charge nurse at Palm Garden from April of 1995 to Aug. 11, 1996 while Terri Schiavo was a patient and in August, 2003, gave a sworn affidavit to the attorney representing Terri's parents, Mary and Robert Schindler Sr., in their challenge to the guardianship of Michael Schiavo and his petition to remove his wife's feeding tube in order to cause her death.
http://www.terrisfight.org/userfiles/File/Affidavit%20C%20Iyer%20082903.pdf

She later, at the request of legal counsel for Gov. Jeb Bush gave a sworn affidavit in December, 2003 for submission with the Governor's response the legal challenge of Terri's Law which was signed into law in October, 2003 by Gov. Bush resulting in the reinsertion of the feeding tube after Judge George Greer had ordered it removed. Ultimately, Terri's Law was ruled unconstitutional.    AFFIDAVIT

Iyer had stated in her August 2003 affidavit that "it was clear to me at Palm Garden that all decisions regarding Terri Schiavo were made by Michael Schiavo with no allowances made for any discussion, debate or normal professional judgment. My initial training there consists solely of the instruction, "Do what Michael Schiavo tells you or you will be terminated".

And terminated she was on Aug. 11, 1996, the day after she filed a police report, alleging that Michael Schiavo had injected Terri with insulin in an attempt to kill her. Although attempts have been made by The North Country Gazette to obtain copies of the complaint filed by Iyer with the police, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office has refused to respond to the request and the Largo Police Department says it's out of their jurisdiction. Eleanor Centonze, mother of Schiavo's concubine Jodi Centonze, was allegedly employed as a clerk in the sheriff's office under Pinellas County Sheriff Everett Rice at the time that Iyer's complaints concerning Schiavo would have been filed with the police.

Iyer said in her affidavit that Schiavo was fixated on when his wife was going to die, allegedly asking "When is that bitch gonna die?", "Has she died yet?" and "When is she going to die?"

She stated in her 2003 affidavits filed with the Sixth Judicial Circuit, Pinellas County, which became a matter of public record and in the public domain, that on five different occasions she had tested Terri's blood sugar levels after Michael had visited Terri and found that her levels were so low it wouldn't even register on the glucometer. She said she had found needle marks on Terri which she had reported to her superiors and the nursing home administrator and ultimately to the police but instead of acting on her complaint, they terminated her.

Although Iyer was simply relating what was already a matter of court record, a woman from Sutton, Massachusetts, herself a registered nurse, took exception to Iyer being interviewed on CNN, complaining to DOH's Division of Medical Quality Assurance on March 22, 2005, the day after Iyer's interview initially aired, saying that Iyer had made "inflammatory remarks" regarding Michael Schiavo.

"On March 22, 2005, I watched and heard Carla Sauer-Iyer interviewed on CNN television", Eileen Sullivan's complaint says. "The interview was repeated several times during the day on March 22nd. Ms. Sauer-Iyer was commenting on her relationship with Theresa Schiavo, a patient at Woodside Hospice, as her LPN at the time of their relationship of patient nurse. Ms. Sauer-Iyer made inflammatory comments regarding Mrs. Schiavo's husband, Michael (e.g., "when is that b-i-t-c-h (spelled out by Ms. Sauer-Iyer) going to die?" Ms. Sauer Iyer also made unsubstantiated comments regarding her patient's medical condition commenting that with "just a little bit of therapy", Mrs. Schiavo could be rehabilitated. I suggest the Florida Board of Registration view the complete interview that Ms. Sauer-Iyer gave to CNN".

In the section on the complaint which asked what would satisfy her complaint, Sullivan said that "Ms. Sauer-Iyer should be disciplined for her breach of faith with Theresa Schiavo and with her profession as a registered nurse. I was embarrassed that she would violate her oath on national television".

The DOH attempted to force Iyer to voluntarily relinquish her nursing license and to never apply for re-licensure. Had she signed the proposed stipulation agreeing that her license was permanently revoked, taking away her livelihood, and agreeing to pay nearly $1,700 in fines and costs, Iyer would have had to agree to waive all rights to seek judicial review or to "otherwise challenge or contest the validity of this Voluntary Relinquishment and of the Final Order of the Board…."

Iyer's attorney Allen R. Grossman of Gray Robinson of Tallahassee filed a response to the finding of probable cause on June 6, arguing that information contained in Iyer's interview was not confidential and that she had a First Amendment right to discuss her public testimony previously rendered in various legal proceedings.

Grossman submitted to DOH the affidavit prepared by Iyer and filed with the court in Dec. 2003 at the request of Gov. Bush's legal counsel and filed by the Governor's legal defense team in Schiavo's appeal of Terri's Law.

"As such, the affidavit is part of the public record of the case. Ms. Sauer's interview of March 22, 2005, was little more than a rendition of the same information already provided in the public record…", Grossman wrote. "The medical condition of Ms. Schiavo was an integral part of the above-referenced case and several other state and federal cases filed by and against Michael Schiavo as the guardian of Ms. Schiavo. It is an extremely well accepted principle of law in Florida that even where there is a statutory privilege protecting confidentiality, such as the psychotherapist-patient privilege, such privilege of confidentiality is waived to the extent that the patient's medical/mental status is placed directly at issue in a legal proceeding. Although there is no specific statutory privilege of confidentiality between patient and nurse, the Board of Nursing has created a duty of confidentiality between nurses and patients in 64B9-8.005(2)(d) FAC. This rule specifically prohibits a nurse from "violating the confidentiality of information or knowledge concerning a patient". In this case, by March 22, 2005, the date of Ms. Sauer's interview, the medical condition of Ms. Schiavo was being routinely discussed in the media (although Michael Schiavo claimed that he was litigating because he was protecting Terri's right to privacy).

"Ms. Schiavo's actual medical condition and medical history were routinely debated in court cases, in newspapers, on daily news programs, on television and radio talk shows and at most water coolers around this country and many others. Such discussions had been taking place for several years by the time Ms. Sauer gave her interview on March 22, 2005. By that time, most of the world was well aware of the medical condition of Ms. Schiavo. It is neither reasonable nor plausible for the Department to assert that Ms. Schiavo's medical history was still a confidential matter at the time of Ms. Sauer's interview".

Grossman told the state agency that "it is at least ironic, if not at the core improper, for the Department of Health, an executive agency under the Governor, to pursue action against a nurse for discussing the very issues that are the content of one or more affidavits provided for the Governor's defense in legal proceedings in state and federal court. Ms. Sauer initially made public statements about Ms. Schiavo's medical history only in order for the Governor to use such statements in his own defense in litigation brought by Ms. Schiavo's husband and guardian.

"In light of the lack of any reasonable expectation or actual existence of confidentiality as to the medical history and condition of Ms. Schiavo in March 2005, and in recognition of Ms. Sauer's First Amendment right to discuss er public testimony in the various legal proceedings as set forth in her affidavits filed in those cases, it is not well founded for the Department to continue in the prosecution of Ms. Sauer's nursing license….."

In an exclusive interview Tuesday with Sullivan by The North Country Gazette, she stated that she filed her complaint because she was "embarrassed for the profession" and she said she was surprised that she was apparently the only person who had filed a complaint against Iyer and that her only interest was from the professional standpoint. She said she had been "astounded" by what she heard Iyer say in the interview and she felt it was not conduct that was expected of a registered nurse.

She said she had not been informed that DOH had "decided to discipline" Iyer and expressed surprise that a determination of revocation had been issued.

Michael Schiavo has continuously since 1990, and as recently as in his book released in March, publicly discussed Terri's confidential medical condition and since he became licensed as registered nurse in January, 2000, (after he flunked his first attempt at the nursing boards in April, 1999).

When asked why she felt that it was improper for Iyer to speak about the legal proceedings but not Michael Schiavo, Sullivan said she wasn't aware that Michael was a nurse. She said that she thought it was proper for him to discuss it because it was part of legal proceedings that he was defending. When asked if she was aware of Heidi Law and Trudy Capone, other nurses who have filed affidavits in the Schiavo case regarding Terri's medical condition, Michael's demeanor and who had also given interviews, Sullivan said she was not familiar with them and had not seen their interviews.

It appears that Carla Iyer has been singled out by the DOH for disciplinary action in what also appears to a politically motivated act and retaliation.

When asked why she felt it was improper for Iyer to speak about the subject on television when it had been a matter of public record for over 18 months previously, she said that by going on television it was reaching "millions of viewers" rather than just being confined to a courtroom. "Whether her statements were accurate, I don't know….she was definitely in violation of the Nurse Practice Act", Sullivan said.

Iyer was served with a complaint signed by "government analyst" Donna Howell dated April 20, 2005, alleging that she had violated Section 464.018(1)(n) of Florida Statutes, failing to meet minimal standards of acceptable and prevailing nursing practice, defined by Rule 64B9-8.005(2)(d), Florida Administrative Code, to include violating the confidentiality of information or knowledge concerning a patient.

At the time that the complaint was filed against Iyer, she had not been a caregiver of Terri Schiavo for over nine years, having been terminated by Palm Garden in August, 1996. After serving the complaint against Iyer, the matter sat dormant for nearly 11 months, until May 6 when the formal administrative complaint was filed, coincidentally about the same time that additional proof had been provided to the DOH that Michael Schiavo had submitted a falsified guardianship application.
http://www.northcountrygazette.org/articles/061506ImmunityFactor.html
http://www.northcountrygazette.org/articles/050906SchiavoImmunity.html

A complaint had been filed against Michael Schiavo in August, 2005, for deceit, dishonesty and misrepresentation in filing false written statements with the court and the Pinellas County Sheriff's office in his employment application. The complaint was deemed legally sufficient in late 2005 and assigned to medical malpractice investigator Kevin Codol in St. Petersburg for investigation, coincidentally the same investigator assigned to the Iyer complaint. But by letter of March 7, DOH legal counsel stated that the Probable Cause Panel, the same two people who made the determination against Iyer, decided to close the case against Schiavo without a finding of probable cause but stated that additional information could be submitted within 60 days to determine if the case should be re-presented to a panel for reconsideration.

In early May, about the same time that DOH issued a determination to revoke Iyer's license, a statement from the registrar's office of Bucks County Community College stating that Michael Schiavo had not received a degree from the college as he had falsely stated under oath on his guardianship application, was submitted to the DOH deputy general counsel Mari Presley who offered no acknowledgement of the submission nor has she indicated the current status of the Schiavo complaint. Although DOH has determined that there is no probable cause to discipline Michael Schiavo for making a provable falsified statement and falsifying academic credentials, the same Probable Cause Panel has determined that Iyer's nursing license should be revoked for talking about public court records including an affidavit elicited from her by the legal counsel of the Governor on the Governor's behalf.

The North Country Gazette has learned that the investigator, Codol is no longer with the DOH. Attempts to reach him Tuesday were unsuccessful. According to Iyer, DOH legal counsel Monica Ryan who signed the administrative complaint against her and one of the two members of the Probable Cause Panel, have also left their positions since the determinations in both the Iyer and Schiavo case. Attempts to reach Ryan were also unsuccessful and it could not be determined if she is still employed with the counsel's office of DOH although Iyer says both she and her attorney have been told she is no longer employed by DOH.

Probable cause panel members involved in both decisions were Nancy Breen of Lakeland, Fla., a consumer member; and Mary Jane Herrera of LaBelle, a LPN. Iyer says that her attorney has determined that Breen is no longer a member of the PCP.

On request of DOH, Sullivan provided a transcript of the CNN news program which she had viewed and DOH took issue that "during the interview, subject made multiple statements in reference to the patient's condition and the fact that patient's husband allegedly removed nursing notes from the facility".

Since the date of Iyer's affidavit, Schiavo has refused to submit himself to deposition and in fact, has not given any sworn testimony in the case since the January, 2000 trial which resulted in Judge George Greer issuing the death warrant for Terri. Although Patricia Fields Anderson tried on numerous occasions to depose both Michael and his then girlfriend, Jodi Centonze, both dodged the depositions, apparently with the assistance of attorney Daniel Grieco, the same attorney who quickly appeared at the hospital after Terri's collapse and who assisted Schiavo in the preparation of the falsified guardianship application submitted to the court in May, 1990. During the entire period of time that Anderson represented the Schindler family following the 2000 trial (Pamela Campbell was Schindlers' attorney for the 2000 trial) until Anderson left the case in September 2004, Schiavo never uttered a word under oath. Therefore, no one has ever been able to depose Schiavo under oath about Iyer's allegations or obtain copies of the alleged altered nursing notes.

A transcript of the Iyer interview with Bill Hemmer, CNN anchor, originally aired on March 21, 2005, follows: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0503/22/lol.02.html

We've been reporting all morning now, a federal judge in Florida has refused to order Terri Schiavo's feeding tube reinserted. It has been out since Friday at the end of last beak, and that ruling is a blow to her parents who have been fighting for years to keep it in. They're now appealing that ruling. Terri's husband, Michael, says Terri would not want to be kept alive in her condition.

Carla Sauer Iyer was Terri Schiavo's nurse for more than a year. She's my guest now in Tampa.

Good morning to you. Thank you for your time. This goes back about eight or nine years since you took care of Terri in Florida.

How did you interact with her, do you believe?

CARLA SAUER IYER, TERRI SCHIAVO'S FMR. NURSE: Terri would be -- we would have her at the nurse's station. She would interact with visitors and staff. She would communicate by letting us know that she was in pain. She would laugh. She would say words such as, "Mommy, help me." She would say the word "pain."

HEMMER: So you heard those words, "mommy" and "pain" and "help me?"

IYER: Correct.

HEMMER: Why was there no videotape taken of that speaking opportunity?

IYER: That was back in '95 and '96. There's four hours of videotape that the judge has put a gag order on.

HEMMER: But you've seen it, you say, and that was not entered into court, that's your claim?

IYER: Correct.

HEMMER: What's your interaction with Michael Schiavo at this time, Carla?

IYER: He was very intimidating. He would come up to the nurse's station and state, these are my orders, you're going to follow it. There were rehab orders for Terri and Michael would void those orders.

HEMMER: You say in part of this affidavit that Michael at one point would ask the question, when is she going to die? Is that a fact, do you believe?

IYER: Yes in front of all the staff he would say, when is she going to die? Has that B-I-T-C-H died yet? HEMMER: Apparently these claims have been investigated, and they found nothing to support what you're saying today. How do you respond to the investigation that was carried out there?

IYER: I believe there's a gag order, and they're favoring Michael for some reason.

HEMMER: Well, we talked with -- just about 30 minutes ago, we talked with a guy that prepared the case for the governor of Florida, Jeb Bush, to look at back in 2003. He said there was not a single evidence of a bed sore on Terri Schiavo's body over 15 years, which he points out for a bedridden person. As a nurse, do you find that remarkable, too?

IYER: Yes, Terri is a very, very healthy female.

HEMMER: But he also says that this is proof that Michael took good care of her.

IYER: The nurses took good care of her. We would give her range of motion. We would move her arms and legs. We would feed her. She was taking nutrition through a baby bottle. She was eating thickened liquids Jell-Os, milkshakes, puddings with no aspiration.

HEMMER: Michael has said that his wife would not want to live this way. Can you understand that?

IYER: That is not true. Terri wants to live.

HEMMER: You also asked whether or not Michael Schiavo would threaten nurses with termination. Is that your claim?

IYER: Yes. There was a restraining order against him. He would come up to the nurse's station, threaten the nurses, being a bully -- you have to follow my orders and not the doctor's orders.

HEMMER: Well, Carla, did you report all this?

IYER: Yes, I did.

HEMMER: What did they say?

IYER: I went to my director of nursing, to the administrator, and I did eventually go to the police.

HEMMER: What did the police come back and tell you then?

IYER: I went to the police regarding possible injection marks of regular insulin injected into Terri.

HEMMER: Well, why do you believe none of this evidence has come out in the cases that we've followed in court then?

IYER: The judge has put a gag order on any positive documents or entries regarding Terri Schiavo.

HEMMER: Why are you coming forward now? Do you feel like the time's ticking?

IYER: Yes, I do. I want the public to know the truth. I was one of the very few people that were able to take care of Terri.

HEMMER: Also, do you think you're speaking on behalf of her parents, coming forward publicly like this?

IYER: I'm speaking the truth. I have no opinions, no judgments just the facts.

HEMMER: One more thing I'm kind of curious about here, when Michael was in the room with Terri, how much interaction was there between them, do you believe?

IYER: He would shut the door. I -- we weren't able to see any. There would be no TV, no music, no pictures. He would shut the door.

HEMMER: So you're saying every time Michael showed up to visit his wife, he would close the door, so no nurse was ever present during these meetings?

IYER: Correct, correct. Michael was concerned about her superficial looks. He would want makeup on her, but not any therapy done.

HEMMER: I know you mentioned the gag order several times. But I just want to try and nail this home again, that there is no evidence that supports what you're saying today. How can you explain that?

IYER: There was pages and pages of documents that I documented in Terri's chart.

HEMMER: Well, let's leave it there. And again, this case has been sent up to Atlanta. We expect the 11th Circuit Court of Appeal to hear this hearing, that the parents of Terri Schiavo already say that they will appeal. The ruling came down about three hours ago in Florida. We'll watch it from here. Carla Sauer Iyer, a nurse who once took care of Terri Schiavo, going back to 1995 and 1996.

© 2006 North Country Gazette