[saprina]

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.

[Fr_Chuck]

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.

[J_9]

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.

[saprina]

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

[J_9]

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.

[saprina]

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

[J_9]

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

[J_9]

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