Nurse jailed for posting patients' photos online

Portland A nursing assistant spent eight days in jail after a jury found her guilty of taking disturbing photos of elderly or disabled patients and posting them to her Facebook wall. A jury convicted Nai Mai Chao, 26, of invasion of personal privacy late last month. She was released from prison last Friday. She was accused of taking graphic photos of patients using bed pans and posting them on Facebook. The pictures date to April 2011. The pictures show at least two patients — one of a patient lying down and another of the back of a patient's head. The rest of the pictures are of the contents of bed pans. Her Facebook friends commented on several pictures, expressing disgust or humour about the photos. Chao surrendered her nursing certificate in January and was fired from the Regency Pacific Nursing and Rehab Centre in the Portland suburb of Gresham. Chao denied taking the photos but admitted posting them. The charge of invasion of personal privacy is a misdemeanour. Apology In addition to the jail time, she was ordered to write a 1,000-word apology to a patient that "should be an insightful look at why the defendant did what she did." If the essay doesn't meet that standard, the judge ruled, she could be charged with violating her two-year probation.