Ringgold County Hospital in Mount Ayr, Iowa. (Photo courtesy of Ringgold County)
The Iowa Board of Nursing has agreed to settle a case involving a nurse accused of being impaired while working in a hospital emergency room.
The board has placed the license of Auston Horras, 42, of Des Moines, on probation for one year after charging him with practicing nursing while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Horras is still facing a related criminal charge of operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
According to police records, a Ringgold County deputy stopped Horras about 7:15 p.m. on Nov. 23, 2023, in Mount Ayr, for driving 96 mph in a 55 mph zone. An arrest report indicates Horras told the deputy he was a nurse and was late for work at the Ringgold County Hospital, which is located in Mounty Ayr. He was given a citation and released.
Auston Horras (Photo courtesy Ringgold County Attorney’s Office)
About 10:30 p.m. that night, the hospital contacted the sheriff’s office and said they suspected one of their emergency room nurses, Horras, was working while impaired. According to the police report, the hospital staff said Horras was moving very slowly, was more forgetful than usual, and had left his vehicle running in the parking lot, with its lights on, for the past three hours. The hospital staff was concerned Horras might try to drive home while impaired.
A county deputy went to the hospital and administered field-sobriety tests that allegedly showed multiple indications of being impaired, although a blood-alcohol test showed Horras had no alcohol in his system. Horras was not arrested, but was cautioned not to drive himself home.
About 12:45 a.m., the hospital contacted the sheriff’s office to report that Horras, whose preliminary urine test indicated the presence of alcohol and fentanyl, was driving himself home. Horras was pulled over near a Casey’s General Store and was charged with first-offense operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
A Division of Criminal Investigation lab test later indicated that Horras tested negative for fentanyl but tested positive for Zolpidem, a controlled substance sold under the brand name Ambien, which is a drug often used to treat insomnia.
The criminal case is still pending, with a trial scheduled for Sept. 11, 2024. Court records indicate that as of May 7, 2024, Horras was employed by UnityPoint Health.
The Iowa Capital Dispatch was unable to reach Horras for comment.