Attorney: VA nurse who drank before operation has resigned
WILKES-BARRE (AP) – A registered nurse who acknowledged drinking four or five beers in the hours before assisting an operation at a veterans’ hospital in Pennsylvania has resigned.
Kim Borland, the attorney representing 59-year-old Richard Pieri, acknowledged Wednesday that he resigned. She wouldn’t comment on criminal charges the nurse faces for the Feb. 4 incident, including reckless endangerment, driving under the influence and public drunkenness.
Police say the Drums resident stumbled into the Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center 4 before the emergency surgery.
Prosecutors say Pieri told investigators he had forgotten he was on call that night and had been drinking at the Mohegan Sun Pocono casino when he was summoned for the emergency operation.
Pieri faces a preliminary hearing on the charges on March 29.