Staff members at Naval Hospital of Jacksonville have been removed from patient care after pictures and video that they posted on social media went viral.
The video and pictures showed the corpsmen inappropriately handling a newborn to make the child “dance” to rap music as well as an image of a corpsman making an inappropriate gesture toward a newborn with the caption, “How I currently feel about these mini Satans.”
The hospital has since responded by condemning the images, writing on Facebook, “We have identified the staff members involved. They have been removed from patient care and they will be handled by the legal system and military justice.”
The hospital also stated that it was still notifying the parties involved.
What’s more, the US Navy Surgeon General has said that he “applauds” those who reported the images.
Vice Admiral Forrest Faison said of the situation, “Unprofessional and inappropriate social media behavior is inconsistent with both our core values of honor, courage and commitment as well as our medical ethics, violating the oaths we took for our profession and office. This type of behavior also has a negative effect on mission accomplishment and good order and discipline.”
“I have directed immediate mandatory all-hands stand downs within 48 hours at all Navy Medicine commands to review our oaths, our pledges, our reasons for serving, as well as Navy Medicine’s policy regarding use of personally owned phones and other recording devices,” Faison stated.
“Further, all commanding officers will be tasked to ensure no additional patient photos exist on social media and to take immediate action to remove such content. I applaud the individuals who took a stand when they witnessed this inappropriate behavior online. They chose not to be silent.”
