State pulls health license over naked photos and sex crime. Other Tri-Citians also face discipline

The state credential for a Kennewick man to work for as a home health care aide has been pulled after he was sentenced to prison for taking pictures of a developmentally disabled teen in his care.

It’s among several recent actions taken by the state health department against Tri-City providers based on convictions and allegations ranging from drug use to theft.

Home health aide Conception I. Suarez lost his state license after he was sentenced to a year and two months in prison for possessing depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct and sexual misconduct with a minor.

The 57-year-old was arrested in September 2018 on allegations he sexually abused a boy several times over nearly two years as an in-home care provider.

The boy told his mental health therapist that Suarez would ”engage in sexual behavior” during a sleepover, according to court documents. He later told a detective that he had been raped by his caregiver and made to undress for photos.

Suarez entered an “In Re Barr” plea in March, which means he did not admit guilt but pleaded to a lesser charge to take advantage of a plea offer by prosecutors.

Other Benton, Franklin county providers:

Other recent actions by the state related to health care provider licenses in Benton and Franklin counties include:

▪ In July, the state Nursing Commission charged licensed practical nurse Eli Eames Brackenbury of Benton County with unprofessional conduct when he worked as an occupational nurse at a potato plant in 2017.

A woman came to the plant’s first aid station with a headache, nausea and high blood pressure.

Brackenbury allegedly did not record her blood pressure or take any other vital signs.

He drove her home and she repeatedly fell asleep on the drive and had to be helped into the house, where he left her with her adolescent daughter, according to state documents.

Her family later took her to a hospital where she was diagnosed with a hemorrhage that may have resulted from an aneurysm, or enlargement of an artery.

▪ In August, the state Nursing Assistant Program charged registered nursing assistant Lyndsay Nicole Lapierre with unprofessional conduct because she had been convicted of stealing from a client.

In February 2018 Lapierre used the electronic benefit transfer card to buy herself food in Kennewick on two days.

The theft was discovered because the patient was at Eastern State Hospital in Spokane County on those days and could not have made the purchases.

Lapierre pleaded guilty in December to second-degree theft.

▪ In September, the Pharmacy Commission charged pharmacy technician and pharmacy assistant Alexandra Urbina of Franklin County with unprofessional conduct.

Urbina, who worked at a retail pharmacy, admitted to her employer and to police that she took about 1,000 pills for her own use, according to the state.

▪ In September, the Nursing Assistant Program charged certified nursing assistant Jazmin Magdalena Amador of Benton County with unprofessional conduct.

She was convicted of misdemeanor shoplifting in Yakima County in June 2017 and misdemeanor first-degree criminal trespassing in Yakima County in February 2018.

▪ In October, the Nursing Assistant Program charged certified nursing assistant Kayla M. Streb of Benton County with unprofessional conduct.

In March 2019, Streb was convicted of felony possession of meth. She is attending self-help meetings several times a week, according to state documents.

She also is accused of attempting to elude police in July, according to court documents.

In all the cases, the health care workers can respond to the state’s allegations and proposed disciplinary actions.

Information about health care providers is on the Washington State Department of Health’s website.

Click on “Look up a health care provider license” in the “How Do I?” section of the Department of Health hom page (doh.wa.gov).

The site includes information about a health care provider’s license status, the expiration and renewal date of their credential, disciplinary actions and copies of legal documents issued after July 1998. This information is also available by calling 360-236-4700.

Consumers who think a health care provider acted unprofessionally are also encouraged to call and report a complaint.

This story was originally published October 25, 2019 at 12:36 PM.