JURY TO DECIDE NURSE'S FATE.Byline: Alex Dobuzinskis Staff Writer PASADENA - A former nurse contributed to the death of an agitated ag·i·tate v. ag·i·tat·ed, ag·i·tat·ing, ag·i·tates v.tr. 1. To cause to move with violence or sudden force. 2. 80-year-old cancer patient by bringing a sedative sedative, any of a variety of drugs that relieve anxiety. Most sedatives act as mild depressants of the nervous system, lessening general nervous activity or reducing the irritability or activity of a specific organ. to calm him without first getting a doctor's order, a prosecutor told jurors Tuesday. Amy Brunner, 26, is charged with involuntary manslaughter The act of unlawfully killing another human being unintentionally. Most unintentional killings are not murder but involuntary manslaughter. The absence of the element of intent is the key distinguishing factor between voluntary and involuntary manslaughter. in connection with the June 7, 2003, death of Pierre Azar, a terminally ill Terminally Ill When a person is not expected to live more than 12 months. Notes: Any gifts given out by the afflicted person at this time may be considered as a dispersion of the estate rather than a gift. patient at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center is a hospital in Burbank, California, USA. The hospital has 455 beds, and is part of Providence Health & Services. It's adress is: 501 S. Buena Vista St., Burbank, CA 91505. in Burbank. Brunner faces up to four years in prison if convicted. She is accused of leaving a syringe containing the sedative Diprivan for nurse Kelly Miyasato's patient despite the lack of a doctor's order. Azar, a Burbank resident, died about 10 minutes after receiving the injection. ``This is a serious drug that is used to put people under in an anesthetic setting, like an operating room operating room n. Abbr. OR A room equipped for performing surgical operations. ,'' Deputy District Attorney Vesna Maras told jurors in closing arguments Tuesday. In a separate hearing Monday, Miyasato, 32, pleaded no contest to a lesser charge of practicing medicine without a certification, and an involuntary manslaughter charge against her was dismissed. She was sentenced to 350 hours of community service and five years of probation. In Brunner's trial, her attorney, J. Michael Flanagan, questioned whether the Diprivan-filled syringe that Miyasato used on Azar was the same one Brunner filled and left in Azar's room, since Miyasato told investigators she got the drug herself. Flanagan also described Brunner as a dedicated nurse trying to help, and he cautioned jurors against using hindsight to judge her actions. ``We're not in the ICU ICU intensive care unit. ICU abbr. intensive care unit ICU see intensive care unit. ICU with the satellite pharmacy closed at 2 o'clock at night with monitors going off. A hectic situation,'' he said. The nurses no longer work for the hospital. The California Board of Registered Nursing is expected to review the status of their nursing licenses at the conclusion of their court cases. Alex Dobuzinskis, (818) 546-3304 alex.dobuzinskis(at)dailynews.com |
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