‘WALL OF SHAME’

Maine Hospital Displayed Confidential Medical Records of Disabled Patients

The display included records detailing the private body parts, bodily functions, and sexual activities of patients—along with jokes about the disabled patients.

Employees at a Maine hospital reportedly displayed the confidential medical records of disabled patients in 2016, creating a “wall of shame” that wasn’t removed for four months, according to the state’s Human Rights Commission. The records posted at St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center detailed the private body parts, bodily functions, and sexual activities of patients. The display also included “jokes” about the mentally and physically disabled patients, according to the commission’s report.

MyKayla McCann, a former disabled employee of St. Mary’s who was also treated at the hospital, said at least two of her co-workers looked at her private medical records and treated her “differently” after she returned from a leave of absence. An investigation into the issue found McCann “encountered the display every day” and encountered an “abusive” work environment. McCann reported the “wall of shame” to the hospital in 2016, but it wasn’t removed until four months later, the commission found. One person was fired over the display, while another was given a warning at the end of 2016. McCann left her job at St. Mary’s in January 2017, and said her workplace was “intolerable” in her resignation letter.