Nurse suspended for patient abuse TikTok videos claims they were comedy skits
A nurse who was suspended for posting TikTok videos about the alleged abuse of her patients said they were just jokes.
Kelly Morris worked at The Citadel Nursing Center in Winston-Salem, central North Carolina. She posted several videos to her TikTok account, which appears to have since been deleted. She went under the name “bubblegumkelz” and posted videos of herself doing what she said were jokes.
Ms Morris appeared to have created another account on Sunday, claiming in her first video on her new account that the “trolls” had “banned” her.
Videos from her previous account included jokes about unplugging a patient’s ventilator to charge her phone and dispensing extra sleeping pills to patients so they didn’t have to deal with them.
Ms. Morris set up a GoFundMe after her suspension, hoping to crowdfund the money lost due to her suspension.
“TikTok got me fired, so feed my kids,” the GoFundMe page says. Tuesday afternoon, he raised $ 60.
Refusing to participate in an interview with a local TV station after speaking to a lawyer, Ms Morris released a statement: “The only thing that hurts me in my TikTok videos is people’s feelings. All of my videos are comedy sketches. I can understand how someone can be upset, but not to the point where they take it. No one has ever been hurt and I treat all of my patients with great care and they all love me.
The care facility’s parent company, Accordius Health, also chose not to give an interview to WXII 12 News, also releasing a statement.
“The Citadel of Winston Salem was made aware of the TikTok videos by an employee last week,†the company said. “Our team investigated the content and acted immediately. The abusive and unprofessional use of social media platforms by employees violates our core values ​​and is not tolerated. No form of mistreatment of residents is tolerated. Please be assured that we have handled the situation and reported its actions to all appropriate state and federal agencies. “
“We love our residents; provide and protect them on a daily basis. We are grateful to the global healthcare team who proudly protect older people in our profession, â€they added.
Ms Morris said she believed she had fallen victim to the “cancellation culture” – targeted by people who lack a sense of humor.