Nurse Suspended Over TikTok Videos About Patients

A North Carolina nurse who joked about mistreating her patients on TikTok was suspended by her employer last week, local NBC affiliate WXII 12 reported.

Kelly Morris, a nurse at The Citadel Winston Salem nursing facility, was temporarily removed from her job after posting multiple viral TikTok videos that poked fun at resident abuse. The videos, which she posted under the username @bubblegumkelz, included jokes about overmedicating patients, lying about vital signs, and unplugging a patient’s ventilator to charge her phone.

Several people had reached out to WXII 12 to express concerns about Morris’ social media activity, but the nurse has maintained that her videos were just jokes.

“The only thing hurt in my TikTok videos were people’s feelings,” Morris told WXII 12. “All my videos are comedy skits.”

Morris added that she understands why people are upset by her social media posts, but not to the degree that some are taking it. “No one was ever harmed, and I treat all my patients with great care, and they all love me,” she told the local news station.

Although Morris has asserted that her videos were supposed to be funny, many are not amused. Whitley Patterson, the daughter of a former patient at The Citadel Winston Salem who passed away earlier this year, said that she was very upset by the posts.

“I was very disturbed,” told WXII 12. “No words can express just how that video makes me feel.”

Kelly Wetzel, a spokesperson from Accordius Health, parent company of The Citadel Winston Salem, told MedPage Today in a statement that her team was made aware of Morris’ TikTok videos the week of June 25, and began investigating and took action immediately.

“Misuse and unprofessional use of social media platforms by employees violates our core values and is not tolerated,” Wetzel said. She stated that any form of resident abuse is never tolerated, and assured the public that the facility has “handled the situation” and reported Morris’s actions to “appropriate state and federal agencies.”

“We love our residents; provide for and protect them every day,” Wetzel added. “We are grateful for the global healthcare team that protects the elderly with pride in our profession.”

Morris told WXII 12 that her story is an example of “cancel culture.” Her original TikTok account has been banned from the platform, but a new account under a similar username has been created.

After her suspension, Morris created a GoFundMe campaign to support her family while she is out of work. She apologized for her “bad taste jokes,” but stated that she still has children to care for as a single mother. Currently, the campaign has raised $300.