Three Iowa healthcare providers fired for alleged patient-privacy law violations
Three Iowa healthcare providers fired for alleged patient-privacy law violations
Publish Date: 2026-05-08 15:17:00
Source Domain: www.kcci.com
Three Iowa healthcare providers have been denied unemployment benefits after being fired for allegedly violating patient privacy laws.The first of the three cases involves Julie Meinders, who worked as a scheduler for Mason City’s MercyOne North Iowa Medical Center from February 2024 through October 2025 when she was fired.The company alleged that on Sept. 19, 2025, Meinders used her login credentials to call up the medical records of a co-worker and then accessed her colleague’s “patient sidebar report” to view the individual’s upcoming appointments.MercyOne alleged Meinders had no work-related reason for accessing her colleague’s medical record. State records indicate that when confronted by her superiors about the situation, Meinders denied, at least six times, ever accessing the medical records.Administrative Law Judge Elizabeth Johnson ruled recently that Meinders had committed workplace misconduct and denied her unemployment benefits.“The weight of the evidence does not support Ms. Meinders’ assertion that her coworker asked her if she had an appointment coming up soon,” Johnson wrote in her decision. “The administrative law judge did not believe this explanation for the access.”The second of the three cases involves another former employee of MercyOne North Iowa Medical Center, Jami Weaver, who worked for the hospital in both nutrition services and in security from April 2023 through February 2026.On Feb. 9, 2026, Weaver was working for security when she allegedly used a MercyOne cellphone to shoot video of a patient and her coworkers without their permission. State records indicate the alleged incident came to the employer’s attention on Feb. 11, 2026, when another security officer found the recording on the phone. MercyOne alleged that when Weaver was questioned by her superiors, she acknowledged shooting the video and admitted she knew it violated the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which…
