A 24-year-old Kingston, Ont., woman has been sentenced to house arrestĀ for what aĀ judge called a series of lies that included forgingĀ nursing credentials thatĀ allowedĀ her to treat roughly 200 patientsĀ before being found out.
Madeline StenhouseĀ appeared in the Ontario Court of Justice on Tuesday wearing a black suit and glasses. She noddedĀ as Justice Alison WheelerĀ described her “youthfulness” as a reason to show restraint in sentencing.
“Ms. Stenhouses’s offending was the product of immaturity in not knowing how to accept or deal with the fact that she failed nursing school,” the judge read from her decision.
The fake nurse was sentenced to two years less a dayĀ to be served in the community, including 18 months of house arrest.
She was also ordered to complete 240 hours of community service with the Elizabeth Fry Society and to pay $40,000 to the University Hospitals for Kingston Foundation.
In delivering her sentence, Wheeler saidĀ patients rely on the health-care system and must be confident they’re being cared for by professionals.
“Ms. Stenhouses’sĀ conduct was calculated, sustained and had the potential to harm a wide range of people who were in a medically vulnerable state,” said the judge.
StenhouseĀ previously pleaded guilty to defrauding Kingston Health Sciences Centre (KHSC) of more thanĀ $5,000 and using a forged document.
Court heard she repeatedly lied about her level of education and provided falsified credentials, including a photo of a degree she had not earned and a doctored screenshotĀ from the website for the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO).
Assistant Crown attorney Courtney CottleĀ had calledĀ for aĀ jail sentence, urging theĀ court to draw a “harsh line” to deter anyone else considering impersonating a health-care worker.
StenhouseĀ actively deceived the hospital and put people at risk every dayĀ despite multiple opportunities to come clean, the lawyer argued, addingĀ the accusedĀ was “essentially committing fraud for 672 days.”
“It’s not a matter whether it was about financial gain, immaturity, wanting to please her parents.ā€¦ This is about her being in a position of responsibilityĀ to care for people when they’re extremely vulnerable,” said the Crown.
“The only wayĀ … to try and stop this behaviour is to show people that you will go to jail. Real jail.”
‘I regret every second’
Stenhouse apologized, describing her arrest as a “wake-up call” and takingĀ responsibility for her actions.
“I never intended to cause harm and it is not lost on me, the seriousness of what I did,” she read from a piece of paper during anĀ April courtĀ appearance.Ā “I regret every second of it.”
On Tuesday, Wheeler read out the facts of the case, counting sevenĀ lies StenhouseĀ had told during her time at the Kingston General Hospital.
She initially applied to be a nursing assistantĀ in April 2021, providing verification of enrolment from St. Lawrence College showing she was in her third year. However, she had forged that document, court heard.Ā
In fact,Ā Stenhouse had dropped out in the fall of 2019Ā and all information she provided about her studies was false. That included her application in April 2022 toĀ work as a registered nurse,Ā according to the facts.
Court heard StenhouseĀ was given the paperwork to obtain aĀ temporary licenceĀ but never submitted it. Meanwhile, sheĀ completed “buddy shifts” and was assigned to a surgical floor.
Starting in AugustĀ 2022, she began caring for patients without supervision, doing so for nearly five months before she was asked to provide her college registration number on Jan. 25, 2023.
Stenhouse sent a screenshot of the CNO websiteĀ that appeared to showĀ her licence and registration number, but when hospital staff contacted the collegeĀ they learned she wasn’t in its database.
During a Jan. 30, 2023, meeting with hospital staff, Stenhouse admittedĀ she’d created the screenshot, butĀ claimed she’d sent it by mistake, the judge read from the facts.
Two days later, she again met with staff at the hospital and was asked to provide proof of her education. Instead, she showed a picture of her degree, saying she hadn’t brought the original because she’d travelled by bus, court heard.
Stenhouse was fired that same day. Court was told her earnings including benefits totalled $46,717.02.
Credentials easy to check, college says
Defence lawyer Michael MandelcornĀ had called for his client to be sentenced to house arrest.
While he agreed thatĀ a nurseĀ without proper training could potentially put patients at risk, he noted there had been no complaintsĀ about the care StenhouseĀ had provided.
Mandelcorn said his clientĀ started struggling with anxiety and depression in high school, which continued as she started her nursing program.
Asked by Justice Wheeler why StenhouseĀ impersonated a nurse, the lawyer said it was a difficult question to answer but suggestedĀ her mental healthĀ and unwillingness to tell her parents that she’d flunked out had played a role.
“If Ms. StenhouseĀ …Ā could completely articulate why she did that, she would not have done it,” Mandelcorn said.
Hospital says it’s made changes
KHSCĀ announced in February 2023 that it had fired an employee whoĀ provided “extensive forged documentation” in order to treatĀ roughly 200 patients. A spokesperson saidĀ it was the first time KHSC had encountered such a situation.
Following the incident, the hospital said it had changed its policies so thatĀ orientation for new nursing graduates would only begin after their registration had been verified. The hospital will also check theĀ status of its nurses with CNO monthlyĀ instead ofĀ annually.
The collegeĀ previously told CBC it has online tools to quickly check the registration status of anyone claiming to be a nurse, however aĀ simpleĀ online search of Stenhouse’s first and last name using the CNO’s “Find a Nurse” tool revealedĀ no results.
Instead, her name now appears on a list of “unregistered practitioners,” which the college’s website states is for individuals who are not nurses but mayĀ “holding themselves out” as qualified for the job.
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