Supervisor who let patient leave Maine hospital during snowstorm has license revoked 2 years

Nursing license suspended in Maine hospital death

AUGUSTA, Maine — A Maine nursing supervisor who let a disoriented patient leave a hospital during a snowstorm has had his license revoked.

Sixty-one-year-old patient Reid Emery was dressed only in slippers, socks, pants and a flannel shirt when he left Down East Community Hospital in Machias (muh-CHY’-us) on Jan. 1, 2008. He was found dead the next day in a snowbank.

Attorney General Janet Mills announced Friday the State Board of Nursing had revoked supervisor John Zablotny’s license for two years for incompetent nursing and unprofessional conduct.

Emery had been receiving treatment and medication for abdominal pain when he asked to leave. Zablotny released him against the advice of hospital staff and without reviewing his records or properly assessing his condition.

There’s no telephone listing for Zablotny, who lives in Steuben.