DALLAS (AP) – Texas regulators say they are investigating new allegations that a beleaguered public hospital in Dallas fired a social worker when she questioned whether new authorities she was given violated safety rules.

The latest investigation by the Department of State Health Services follows a lawsuit by former Parkland Memorial Hospital social worker Sandra Palmer. She has accused her supervisors of asking her to transcribe medication vouchers, discuss pharmaceuticals with patients and “medication options with doctors.”

The Dallas Morning News reports that in the lawsuit Palmer questioned supervisors about whether a social worker could do this.

Parkland declined to discuss the case, but says it has confidence in the justice system.
Department of State Health Services spokeswoman Christine Mann says social workers are not supposed to deal with medicine or dosages.

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