IMPERSONATING A NURSE: A Registered Nurse Comments On Matzav Story About Nanny Who Suffocated a Lakewood Baby

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Dear Matzav Editor,

I am writing to you out of great concern after seeing Matzav.com‘s article yesterday, Nanny Nightmare. From the article, I am unsure if the “nurse” referenced is a “baby nurse” or in fact a registered nurse, but assuming the former, please read below.

I recently contacted the American Nurses Association, National Council for the State Board of Nursing, the New York State Board of Nursing, and Mayor De Blasio for this very concern regarding the use of term “nurse” but have yet to receive a response. I often hear friends and family discussing “baby nurses” whom they have hired to help care for newborns.

On questioning, many of these friends told me they believe “baby nurses” are in fact registered nurses. I spent some time researching what it means to be a “baby nurse” to satisfy my own curiosity. What I found was alarming, to say the least. I found numerous agency websites offering “baby nurses” who are available to help new parents care for their newborns, like the nurse mentioned in the Matzav story.

One site, New York Nanny Center, answers the question, “What is a baby nurse?” with the following: “A Baby Nurse is a non-medical professional who comes into the home when the baby comes home from the hospital.  They generally assist parents with the day-to-day care of their new baby for a few weeks up to several months. They can provide overnight (10-12 hours), daytime hours, and 24-hour care. A Baby Nurse is experienced/trained and/or has a certification. Many Baby Nurses will have additional certifications like: HHAs, CNAs or LPNs. Most Baby Nurses also have their CPR certification. Every Baby Nurse is different and has a range of newborn and infant care experience. In general, she will have extensive practical experience with newborns, and current knowledge of accepted practices in newborn care, including lactation support, Infant CPR & First Aid, and knowledge of early childhood development.”

It is illegal to call oneself a “nurse” unless she or he is licensed by the New York State Education Department (or respective state licensing agency) as an RN, LPN, CNS, or NP, yet there are “baby nurses” all over New York and across the country being hired by families and entrusted with the care of their infants.

As a registered nurse, I am eager to help find a way to put an end to the illegal use of the term “nurse” and to ensure the safety of infants and new parents by allowing families to make informed decisions regarding whom they hire for their care.

Respectfully,

Christina Christina Maroone, MSN, MPA, RN PMHNP

Student | NYU Class of 2019 Adjunct Lecturer | Hunter-Bellevue College of Nursing

{Matzav.com Newscenter}


21 COMMENTS

  1. I don’t believe it’s illegal to call yourself a “baby nurse”. Impersonating a nurse would be signing off your name RN, LPN etc.. or treating out of your scope of practice because they think your a nurse. However, calling yourself a baby nurse does not imply that your a nurse. On the other hand these people who are coming into home should at least have a home health aide certification so there they can be held accountable for their actions.

    • How about judging them differently? Perhaps the mother is a sickly woman and the father is not capable of taking care and a nurse was given to them as a gift from a rich relative or friend.

    • How can you say that? Have you ever had a child? Spoiled? What are you talking about? Woman can have PPD , feel weak, exhausted, have other kids to tend to and you come on here calling a mother spoiled for taking help if she needs it.? And even if shes perfectly fine and can afford to pay to get a few good nights sleep…who are you to call woman spoiled rich or anything to defame them. And do you personally know this family to call them rich spoiled? Or are you just a tad jealous that other people can have what you possibly cannot or could not. So you blame the parents and not the nurse…a person who under any circumstances, if true, should be in prison. Shame on you!

  2. This is pretty stupid

    “A Baby Nurse is a non-medical professional who comes into the home when the baby comes home from the hospital.  They generally assist parents with the day-to-day care of their new baby for a few weeks up to several months…”

    Nobody normal thinks they hired a RN to take care of (an otherwise healthy) baby, nor would there be any reason to.

    As Websters define nurse “a woman who takes care of a young child ” (first definition )

    This woman was a nurse plain and simple she was “a woman who takes care of a young child ” which is what the parents expected (of course she didn’t meet their expectations to say the least).

  3. The parents are the PROBLEM!!!!

    This is worse than the people who accidentally leave their child in the car (which is very bad), but it doesn’t come close to the Parents who bring in to their homes animals to take care of their children!!!!

    How the FATHER is NOT embarrassed to show his face is beyond me!!!

    • You are out of your mind, excuse me. How would tgey know shes an animal? Show his face? Why…and BTW did you see his face…let us know. For all the people blaming the parents…you all need a reality and heart check/up!!!!

  4. @OldTimer You definetely are no Old Timer, as in Pre-war Europe, any middle class Jews, had MUCH more help than today. Yes, a nursing mother is recovering, and in the OLD TIME she did not step out of bed for 8 weeks, and the NURSE took care of baby. So I wish every Jewish mother a baby nurse.
    So don’t be some bitter youngster…

  5. Well, I checked the Merriam-Webster dictionary for definition of NURSE, and this is what it states.
    nurse
    noun\ˈnərs\

    : a person who is trained to care for sick or injured people and who usually works in a hospital or doctor’s office

    : a woman who is paid to take care of a young child usually in the child’s home

    Well, there you have it, in plain English. You cannot call it by any other name. I actually believe that the second definition pre-dates the first definition.

  6. A quick online seach and this information is readily available….
    At least 39 states(including NY) are known to have language in their Nurse Practice Act; either explicit in restricting use of the title “nurse” to only those who are licensed or implicit language restricting use of any words implying the individual is a licensed nurse.RESTRICTING USE OF THE TITLE “nurse” to ONLY those individuals who have fulfilled the requirements for licensure as outlined in each state’s nurse practice act is a protection for the public against unethical, unscrupulous, and incompetent practitioners. Nurse practice acts describe entry level qualifications such as education, practice standards and code of conduct for continued privilege to practice nursing.
    This was enacted for a purpose such as this case.
    I am a nurse in the state I live in and I know not only can you not use any title’s with the word nurse if you are not, but the word nurse as an implication is included with the obvious of not being able to use the title’s RN,LPN etc as well….either way you can’t do it and there are NO grey lines because the nursing board has already enacted rules for this. I hope this case is resolved soon. It is not okay & it is illegal and laid out in the nurse practice act in New York.

    • but a baby nurse is a different profession. its just like a wet nurse. do you focus on the word nurse. or see that both words make it something else than a rn.

    • “This was enacted for a purpose such as this case.”

      How?

      If she was an RN then she wouldn’t go around smothering babies. but since she was a nurse in the “a woman who takes care of a young child” sense of the word, then of course smothering a baby is to be expected. IF only her title was clearer and they knew she wasnt actually an RN, al l this could’ve ben avoided

      Is that it?

  7. oldtimer. IF YOU WERE REALLY EXPERIENCING YOUR OLDER YEARS YOU HAVE READ THE ARTICLE AND ”’COMPREHENDED WHAT WAS POSTED. THEY GOT THE ”NURSE FROM THE AGENCY. One would believe that an agency vetted reliable proper ”’nurses…THE SO CALLED AGENCY IS AT FAULT IF IN FACT THEY CALLED THE
    ””ILLEGAL ALIEN WITH STOLEN PAPERS” A NURSE””’. Your disturbed at a persons wealth when you are NOT wealthy. Then you do not FEAR THEONE G-D THE ONE CREATOR AND NEVER TOOK TIME TO LEARN JUST A LITTLE TORAH. If you DID then maybe you can understand that HASHEM REWARDS WEALTH AND POVERTY TO TEST HOW WOULD WE LIVE OUR LIVES. WOULD WE BE GENEROUS with our wealth and support the widowed the poor the orphaned the sick the needed…and maybe the poor would be tested if the free time they have would be spent learning TORAH of just making people happy with smiles when you go through life…YOUR ASSUMPTIONS OF TOO MUCH WEALTH AND PAMPERED LIFE IS ARROGANCE AND ”’MAYBE”” REMOVED A GOLD STAR like the ones given out to kids in grade school THAT YOU EARNED IN HEAVEN . NOW YOU MUST DO A MIZTVAH A GOOD DEED. HURRY BECAUSE MASHIACH MIGHT BE OUTSIDE YOUR WINDOW..GO..GO TAKE A LOOK

    • Be gentle when you rebuke one with grey hair for a small pebble of words to us is like GIANT boulders to them.

      The anger of man does not produce the righteousness of G-d.

      • LION AND BEE. WHAT MAKES ”””YOU ””’ THINK THAT ‘I MYSELF’ DO NOT HAVE GREY HAIR AND SPEAK FROM ABSOLUTE EXPERIENCE? YOUR ARROGANCE? YOU BEING JUDGEMENTAL?
        LION..DID YO ADVISE THE OLDTIMER NOT TO REBUKE, CRITIZES, INSULT WHATAND WHO HE DOES NOT KNOW? ANGER? HOW MANY TIMES DID HASHEM GET ANGRY? RIGHTEOUSNESS ACCORDING TO ‘YOUR’ STANDARDS BUT YOU DIDNT ”’CARE”’ FOR THE FRIGHTENED INNOCENT COUPLE SEEING THIS HORROR BEFORE THEIR EYES….
        LIONBEE DID YOU VOTE FOR HILLARY ALSO? LIONBEE LET ME COUNT MY GREY HAIRS ON MY HEAD WHATS LEFT OF ANY HAIRS….AGE IS NOT A MEASUREMENT OF WISDOM BUDDY.

  8. Steve. Could you call yourself a baby Dr as long as you don’t sign off md or do? That’s a pathetic notion.

    Old timer. Your words are so judgmental that it’s unfathomable that someone should have such thoughts. Whether you were serious or not you need to seriously work on yourself.

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