Sexual misconduct allegations prompts legislation for quicker reporting at health care facilities

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — 9 Investigates found out a Florida state senator has introduced a bill aimed at protecting patients when they go to the doctor or hospital.

Sen. Randolph Bracy, who represents part of Orange County, introduced Senate Bill 74 for the 2018 Legislative session. SB74 would require allegations of sexual misconduct by health care employees to be reported to the Department of Health within 30 days, Channel 9 investigative reporter Karla Ray learned.

Current Florida law has no time frame in which health care practitioners are required to report allegations of sexual misconduct. Department of Health investigations aren’t public until 10 days after probable cause is found, which allows some providers to keep working long after accusations are made.

SB74 would also increase the financial penalties that facilities can face if they fail to report those allegations to the DOH.

The bill comes after months of reporting by 9 Investigates on a local man’s fight for justice for his late wife. Ed Bowman said his wife, Clara Bowman, was groped while she was a patient at Health Central Hospital in Ocoee a decade ago.

Kevin Laing, the nurse accused in Clara Bowman’s case, wasn’t arrested then, and during the time it took to make an arrest on a second patient’s claims, he allegedly assaulted a third woman at a different hospital. Laing is now a registered sex offender.

The bill will be referred to the Subcommittee on Health and Human Services when lawmakers head back to Tallahassee in 2018.

Cox Media Group