Former pediatric nurse Tawny Buettner gave a heartbreaking and powerful speech at San Diego Board of Supervisors meeting this week. After working as a nurse for over 12 years, Buettner was fired from the Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit (CTICU) of a major children’s hospital in San Diego for refusing the COVID vaccine.
On October 1, 2021, Buettner was removed from the bedside because the vaccine mandate for healthcare workers in San Diego County went into effect. Other hospitals accepted exemptions and allowed nurses to stay in their positions, but not Rady Children’s. Buettner tells KUSI News that Rady removed the unvaccinated nurses because they were too great a risk, even though they weren’t testing vaccinated people at the time. Then, they accepted religious exemptions for the booster shot, and allowed the nurses with religious exemptions to stay working bedside.
Buettner was placed on unpaid unprotected leave for six months, then officially terminated from her job on March 1, 2022.
She explained that she didn’t realize how much passion she had for being a nurse and saving children’s lives until it was taken from her.
Buettner specifically blames Supervisor Nathan Fletcher for pushing these failed policies that led to the loss of her career, and decided to tell him face-to-face during public hearing at the September 13th Board of Supervisors meeting.