A resident recently past away. Her obituary was posted to the public,paper internet. I posted that I missed her and my hall will be different without her there. Is this a hipaa violation even though the public already knows everything about her? I was terminated because they said I violated hipaa.

Did the newspaper post that she was a resident of the nursing home where you worked, If they did not then you can not tell she was a resident there.

Yes, it was a HIPAA violation. I'm sorry, but it was. Regardless of whether everyone in town knew she passed, we, as professionals, are supposed to remain virtually anonymous.

Yes the newspaper stated that she lived at the nursing home. It was posted feb 4. My Facebook remark was feb7.

I'm sorry, it doesn't matter when it was posted or when your FB posting was. It's still a HIPAA violation as it was public via FB. Had you sent a card to the family that would be different. However, you made a public posting, and since you were an employee of the facility where she was "living" you violated HIPAA.

I can understand your feelings. I'm a labor and delivery nurse and I also work in the ER at my facility. There are many times I feel the need to post my condolences or congratulations, but in our position we need to keep our feelings private.

I was given permission by the poa to post whatever I want. She also wrote a letter given consent to do so.

Still doesn't matter. You can try and rationalize this all you want, but it is and was a HIPAA violation.

In the end, you were bound by the rules of your facility. Whether someone gave you permission or not, you broke the rules.