A black nurse in Williamson County has accused the sheriff's department of racially profiling her while she was working with a pati...
A black nurse in Williamson County has accused the sheriff's department of racially profiling her while she was working with a patient inside a home.
Stephanie Dash described on social media an encounter with a Williamson County Sheriff's Office deputy in Franklin on Wednesday.
Dash –– who works for Amedisys Home Health Nashville –– said she answered the door at her patient's request after she saw an officer peek through the window.
"The patient told her I was her home health nurse," Dash said. "But the deputy told my patient that they got a call about a suspicious person in the area. I then showed her my nursing bag."
Dash said the officer wasn't convinced, so she walked the deputy to her car to get her identification badge with Amedisys. Dash then called her boss and put her on speaker phone to verify Dash worked with the company.
Officials with Amedisys confirmed that they talked with the deputy about the incident.
"The company she works for has filed a report," WCSO spokesperson Sharon Puckett said. "We are investigating and working to determine if there is audio or video from the call. The deputy was answering a suspicious person call after someone in the neighborhood reported seeing someone going from house to house.
Puckett said the deputy in question is still on patrol while the investigation into the incident continues.
After putting her employer on speaker phone with the deputy, Dash went back in the patient's home to continue working.
"But she continued to interrogate my patient, and asking if she was sure that she knew me," Dash said. "At that point, I just went back to the car. The officer backed out of the driveway and put it in park, and waited until after I left."
Dash said she talked with the patient's family after the incident. The family provided Dash the name of the officer from a business card she left behind for the patient. Dash said she filed a complaint with the department after leaving multiple voicemails.
"Amedisys stands behind and supports Stephanie Dash and all of our more than 12,000 clinicians who make 35,000 patients visits in the home each day," Amedisys marketing director Kendra Kimmons said. "We believe all of our clinicians, including Ms. Dash, should be able to visit the homes of our patients to provide the highest quality of care without undue interference or profiling.We also respect and appreciate the role local law enforcement plays in keeping our communities safe. We are confident that the Williamson County Sheriff’s Department will investigate this situation and take whatever action is appropriate."
A graduate of Nashville State, Dash said this was the first time in her three-year career in nursing she had experienced an incident like this at a patient's home. She said she considered the incident "nursing while black," comparing it to other incidents across the country in which people of color have had law enforcement called on them while they're doing everyday activities.
"I was shocked, and she’s been our patient for a while," Dash said. "She usually sees a white nurse. If one nurse gets booked, we help each other out. As many times as the other nurse has been, she’s never had police called on her."
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