Nurse of the Year is a pretty impressive feather in the cap of a health care practitioner. That type of honor can place a nurse looking for a job in high demand. In the case of Betty Lichtenstein of Norwalk, CT, she claimed to have won the Connecticut Nurse’s Association’s “Nurse of The Year” award in 2008. It turns out Nurse Betty wasn’t really a nurse, but she pretended to be one. Oh, and the Connecticut Nurse’s Association doesn’t exist. In the words of Homer Simpson, “DOH!”
Nurse Betty was hired on by a Connecticut doctor after committing resume fraud and had been treating his patients. Word to the doctor: You might think about ordering a background check next time including a professional license verification and past employment references.
‘Nurse of the Year’ Charged with Not Being A Nurse
NORWALK, Conn. – A Connecticut woman who authorities say spent more than $2,000 to stage a dinner honoring her as “Nurse of the Year” has been charged with pretending to be a nurse at a doctor’s office. Betty Lichtenstein, 56, of Norwalk was charged Thursday.
Prosecutors say Dr. Gerald Weiss believed Lichtenstein was a registered nurse, especially after she was named the Connecticut Nursing Association’s “Nurse of the Year” in 2008.
According to the arrest warrant, that association does not exist.
The state’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit began investigating after a patient complained about Lichtenstein.
She faces up to five years in prison if convicted of reckless endangerment and criminal impersonation charges.
Lichtenstein did not return a telephone message for comment.
[...] Nurse Betty Not Really A Nurse- This nurse of the year recipient was missing a little something from her qualifications. [...]