For immediate release: January 5, 2024 (24-003)
Contact: DOH Communications
Public inquiries: Health Systems Customer Service 360-236-4700
OLYMPIA -- The Washington State Department of Health has revoked or suspended the licenses, certifications, or registrations of the following health care providers in our state. The department has also immediately suspended the credentials of people who have been prohibited from practicing in other states.
The department’s Health Systems Quality Assurance Division works with boards, commissions and advisory committees to set licensing standards for more than 80 health care professions (e.g., dentists, nurses, counselors). Information about disciplinary action taken against medical doctors and physician assistants can be found on the Washington Medical Commission (WMC) website. Questions about WMC disciplinary actions can be sent to media@wmc.wa.gov.
Information about health care providers is on the agency’s website. Click on “Health Care Provider Lookup” under the “Find it Fast” section of the Department of Health website (doh.wa.gov). The site includes information about a health care provider’s license status, the expiration and renewal date of their credential, disciplinary actions and copies of legal documents issued after July 1998. This information is also available by calling 360-236-4700. Consumers who think a health care provider acted unprofessionally are also encouraged to call and report their complaint.
Cowlitz County
In November 2023 the Nursing Assistant Program and Bradley Norman Laird (NC61222933) agreed to the indefinite suspension of his certified nursing assistant license. Prior to petitioning for reinstatement, Laird must pay a $250 fine and complete nine hours of continuing education in the area of law and ethics, boundaries, and patient rights. In August 2022, Laird entered a romantic and sexual relationship with a patient at the assisted living facility where he worked.
King County
In November 2023 the secretary of health suspended the registered nursing assistant license of Phonethip Pon Harrington (NA61304471). The license is suspended for at least five years. Prior to petitioning for reinstatement, Harrington must pay a $500 fine and complete 10 hours of continuing education in the areas of theft awareness, professional boundaries, and law and ethics. Between 2017 and 2022, Harrington used an elderly patient’s credit card for personal purchases totaling thousands of dollars.
Pierce County
In August 2023 the secretary of health suspended the certified nursing assistant license of Candace Ann Saucedo (NC61019125) for at least three years. Prior to petitioning for reinstatement, Saucedo must complete four hours of law and ethics continuing education. Saucedo cashed the same checks from a patient at multiple banks and pled guilty to two charges of second-degree theft, both felonies.
In October 2023 the secretary of health revoked the home care aide license of Leslie Elaine Tramble (HM60314763). In May 2023, Tramble was convicted of second-degree assault – domestic violence, a class B felony. Tramble may not hold a home care aide license because she has been disqualified from working with vulnerable people.
In November 2023 the secretary of health indefinitely suspended the massage therapist license of Linhui Yan (MA60428010). Yan failed to respond to the Department of Health regarding charges against him of leading organized crime, a class A felony; money laundering, a class B felony; and promoting prostitution, a class C felony.
Snohomish County
In November 2023 the secretary of health revoked the home care aide license of Jackson Simosi Nyarangi (HM60905751). In May 2023, Nyarangi was placed on the Department of Social and Health Services list that prohibits Nyarangi from caring for vulnerable adults.
Thurston County
In November 2023 the secretary of health indefinitely suspended the certified nursing assistant and registered nursing assistant licenses of Nikki Kae Scott (NC60076908, NA61365970). Scott failed to comply with the terms and conditions of a 2023 agreement by declining to enroll in a monitoring program.
Yakima County
In November 2023 the secretary of health indefinitely suspended the registered nursing assistant license of Jennifer D. Sawley (NA00190163). Prior to petitioning for reinstatement, Sawley must contact a monitoring program and, if required, enroll in the monitoring program. Sawley did not respond to the Department of Health’s notification of a complaint filed against her regarding drug use and failing to provide patient care. The complaint was referred by Adult Protective Services.
The DOH website is your source for a healthy dose of information. Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and follow us on X (formerly Twitter). Sign up for the DOH blog, Public Health Connection.
###