Sutter Health has terminated the employees involved in a viral video showing healthcare workers at the Pesetas Urgent Care clinic in Santa Barbara posing near unknown bodily fluids in an exam room. The video, which sparked a wave of criticism after it was spread on social media over Labor Day weekend, was originally posted by a TikTok account run by a former employee who was identified only by her first name, Angie.
In a statement released Wednesday afternoon, a Sutter Health spokesperson called the photos featured in the since-deleted video — which showed multiple employees in scrubs poking fun at stains left by patients at the clinic — both “inappropriate and insensitive.”
“This unacceptable behavior is an outright violation of our policies, shows a lack of respect for our patients, and will not be tolerated,” the statement read.
The Sutter Health representative said that an investigation was launched and all employees involved in the social media posts were placed on administrative leave within the first 24 hours of management becoming aware of the posts. All employees have since been terminated as of September 3.
“Protecting the trust of those we serve is our highest priority and when that trust is violated, we take swift action to address it,” stated the Sutter Health spokesperson. “We expect all team members to live our patients-first mission and uphold the highest standards of compassion, professionalism and respect. We are using this inappropriate incident to reinforce our comprehensive policies with all our team members across the organization as part of our commitment to providing all patients with high-quality, compassionate care.”
Sutter Health has not publicly identified any of the employees involved in the social media posts. The TikTok account that posted the original video, @angieuncut, has since been locked, with its username changed and previous posts deleted.
