The Washington state Nursing Board has entered an agreed order with a Lewis County nurse accused of being impaired during shifts at skilled nursing facilities in Olympia in February and July 2024.
The order allows Michelle Denise Gilreath to keep her registered nurse license and not be subjected to further discipline if she complies with the Washington Health Professional Services monitoring program.
The program, which has an initial period of one to five years, involves biological fluid or tissue screenings.
The state Nursing Board filed charges against Gilreath on Nov. 25, 2024, accusing her of possibly being impaired during a shift at an Olympia facility on Feb. 2, 2024, and of being impaired during a shift at another nursing facility in Olympia on July 21, 2024.
In the Feb. 2 incident, Gilreath was removed from her shift after her coworkers saw her “bobbing her head and making erratic bodily movements, among other concerns,” according to charging documents. At the time, Gilreath allegedly “admitted to being sleep-deprived prior to working her shift.”
On July 21, Gilreath’s coworkers at a different facility reportedly saw Gilreath “sweating profusely and exhibiting erratic behavior,” including leaving the floor to sit in the stairwell or her vehicle. She was asked to go home at about 3:30 p.m. that day, but did not leave the premises. She reportedly sat in the stairwell at the facility until approximately 5 p.m., when she was seen sitting in her car and acting erratically for another hour and a half, according to charging documents. Staff called the police at approximately 6:30 p.m. for a welfare check, at which time Gilreath allegedly drove out of the parking lot. Police contacted her at about 7 p.m. and arrested her for DUI after observing signs of impairment, according to charging documents.
At the time, Gilreath allegedly “reported that she had very little sleep the night before and admitted to taking hydrocodone,” according to charging documents.
Gilreath first received her registered nurse license in 2000, according to Nursing Board records.
The legal documents on this case can be seen online by clicking the link on provider credential search on the state Department of Health’s website at https://doh.wa.gov/. Copies can be requested by calling 360-236-4700.
The state Department of Health encourages anyone who believes a health care provider acted unprofessionally is encouraged to call this number and report their complaint.
