(Photo courtesy of the Iowa Board of Nursing)
The State of Iowa has revoked the license of another nurse who practiced in the state for years with a fraudulently obtained license.
Over the past year, several Iowa-licensed nurses have been sanctioned for obtaining degrees through diploma mills that were uncovered by federal investigators as part of Operation Nightingale.
The most recent case involves Akwi Miranda, who now lives in Minnesota. In 2016, the Iowa Board of Nursing issued Miranda a practical nursing license, and in 2019 issued her a license to practice as a registered nurse.
According to the board, prior to being licensed, Miranda had submitted information to the board suggesting she graduated from Alabama Southern Community College, which was located in Miami, Florida, but for reason that aren’t clear she submitted college transcripts from Ideal Professional Institute, which is located in Miami Gardens, Florida.
After failing the National Council Licensure Examination for registered nurses, the board says, Miranda submitted another licensure application to the Iowa board indicating her degree was from IPI, and she then passed the RN exam.
Later, she allegedly told board investigators she had completed her nursing course work not at IPI, but through an online program called Capscare, although she could not provide any transcripts to verify completion.
The board alleges that as evidence of having completed her coursework, Miranda submitted to the board a “series of photographs depicting her in with a group of individuals, all wearing scrubs and stethoscopes, posing outdoors.” Miranda could not, however, provide any details regarding the location of any clinical coursework she had performed, the board alleges.
In January, the board charged Miranda with fraud in procuring her nursing license. After a recent hearing on the matter, the board noted that it was undisputed that Miranda had claimed to have a nursing associate degree from IPI, which is known to have issued false educational credentials in exchange for cash.
The board concluded that Miranda’s coursework claims were not credible and that it was impossible for her to have completed her education according to the timeline she provided.
“The board finds her assertion she attended clinical courses through Capscare in July 2018 particularly nonsensical in light of her stated IPI graduation date of December 2017,” the board stated in its decision to revoke her license.
The board added that her actions “revealed an extreme level of dishonesty that harms the integrity of the nursing profession.”
As in previous, similar licensing cases, the board noted that students involved in the fraudulent nursing programs identified through Operation Nightingale were typically provided degrees in return for $6,000 to $18,000.
The schools also encouraged students to apply for licensure in Iowa because, as the board phrased it, Iowa and a few other states are “perceived to exercise a lower threshold of scrutiny” for license applicants and they do not limit the number of times the national licensing exam can be taken.
Among the Iowa nurses who allegedly obtained degrees in that fashion are Helena Dahnweih , who worked for four years at one of Iowa’s largest nursing home chains, Care Initiatives; Enome Massango , who worked at Valley View Village, an assisted living center and nursing home located in Des Moines; and Mamie Soa Paye of Marion , who spent four years working at Silver Oaks Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Marion where, the board alleges, she was “consistently given poor performance reviews” due to medication errors, poor patient assessments and unprofessional behavior.
Other Iowa nurses whose disciplinary cases were recently addressed by the board include:
— Gretchen Dunn of Keokuk , who was charged by the board with practicing nursing while impaired, failing to secure patient medications, failing to properly document a patient’s status and committing an act that may cause harm to a patient. The board alleged that while working at an unspecified care facility last September, she showed signs of drunken behavior, slurred speech, had an odor of alcohol and was unable to stand on her own.
The board said Dunn also had a blood-alcohol level of 0.282% — more than three times the legal limit for driving. The board suspended Dunn’s license indefinitely and ordered that upon reinstatement, her license will be subject to one year of probation.
— Carol Morley of Newton , who was charged by the board with committing an act that may cause harm to a patient. The board alleged that while working a shift at an unspecified care facility in September 2023, Morley was found sleeping and exhibiting signs of abnormal behavior. According to the board, she then refused a request to submit to a drug screen and was overheard talking about past drug use.
The board suspended Morley’s license indefinitely but agreed to reinstate it once a substance abuse evaluation and any recommended treatment are completed. Upon reinstatement, her license will be subject to one year of probation.
— Danika Robbins of Green Lake, Wisconsin , who was charged by the board with unauthorized use of a controlled substance. According to the board, Robbins was working at an unspecified medical center in August 2023 when the staff raised concerns about her behavior. Robbins allegedly submitted to a drug test that showed a positive result for marijuana use. The Board of Nursing issued Robbins a warning but imposed no fines or licensing restrictions.
— Kathryn Kirchner of LeMars, whose license was reinstated by the board. In its decision reinstating the license, the board said Kirchner had previously surrendered her license. However, board records indicate the board revoked her license in February 2021 after she failed to comply with the terms of a nursing assistance program intended to address substance-abuse issues. Kirchner was enrolled in the program after a 2017 incident in which she was criminally convicted of possession of a controlled substance and operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
Court records show that in November 2020, Kirchner was charged with felony delivery of methamphetamine and possession of methamphetamine. She was placed on probation but was arrested again in October 2021 when police allegedly found her passed out in her car outside a convenience store. She was charged with second-offense OWI, having an open container in her vehicle, second-offense possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and driving without a valid license.
According to a probation officer’s subsequent report, Kirchner told a caseworker in June 2022 she was “drinking up to a liter of vodka and smoking a quarter gram of methamphetamine on a daily basis.”
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