A British Columbia nursing regulator has barred Lori Chern from meeting patients in her home while it investigates a complaint that she offered a patient sex during an August blood pressure visit. The temporary order came after the British Columbia College of Nurses and Midwives found enough initial evidence to support a prima facie case of sexual misconduct.
The complaint has put Chern under immediate limits even as the regulator stopped short of deciding the allegation itself. The patient said he arrived at her house for a blood pressure check and that she sat right next to him, caressed his arm and made remarks that felt flirty before the assessment began.
He said she complimented his physique, heart rate and blood pressure, telling him he seemed to have the health of an 18-year-old. He also said she told him sex was very important for a man to regulate himself and be in good health, then offered him sex and later said he could contact her outside work for sex if he changed his mind. The report to the regulator also included screenshots of text messages the complainant said Chern sent him.
That complaint also accused Chern of failing to complete necessary documentation after a referral from a pharmacist. The nursing college said the material before it was enough to justify temporary restrictions because there could be a risk of harm to the public if no action was taken, but that finding is not a final ruling on whether the allegation is proven.
The order leaves her work at Dr. Helmcken Memorial Hospital and Princeton General Hospital unrestricted. Chern may continue there only until the investigation is complete and the restrictions are lifted or she is dismissed, keeping the case open on a narrow but consequential question: whether the regulator turns a temporary safeguard into a disciplinary finding.
