Healthcare employees from a Santa Barbara clinic have been fired after they made a viral social media post mocking patients under their care.
The video in question that is now being widely circulated across all social media platforms showed the healthcare workers sharing pictures of what appears to be bodily fluids left behind by patients in an examination room.
Internet sleuths tracked down the origin of the video to an employee of Sansum Clinic who worked at the Urgent Care facility at 215 Pesetas Lane in Santa Barbara. The clinic is now overseen by Sutter Health and this facility is now known as "Sutter Health Pesetas Urgent Care."
The accounts have since been deleted and the posts removed, but not before users were able to take screenshots and repost the content.
'Make Sure to Leave Your Healthcare Workers Sweet Gifts Like These'
Some of the posts referenced "gifts" that patients leave healthcare workers in what appears to be bodily fluids left behind on a paper sheet covering a bed in an exam room. The workers pose and point around the fluids with the caption "make sure to leave your healthcare workers sweet gifts like these."
Netizens found at least six photos posted publicly that reference the same topic with additional comments added such as "guess the substance" and an #FYP hashtag that is meant to increase visibility with TikTok's algorithm. Watch the video below:
Social Media Reactions
The video sparked outrage among the online community with many calling for the employees who participated in the post to be reprimanded or fired.
"Nurse to nurse.. you should be ashamed of yourself. For the way you embarrassed your patients, yourself, your employer, your coworkers, your family and the entire nursing community. Respectfully, find a new career," one person posted.
Another commenter stated, "this violates patient privacy and might be illegal. Sansum needs to respond to this and ensure the community feels safe in their facilities."
Sutter Health Releases Statement, Says Employees Responsible for the Post Have Been Terminated
In the wake of the backlash, Sutter Health released the following statement confirming the employees involved in the video have been fired:
