Hospital aide fired for allegedly sleeping in patient’s room

A hospital caregiver who was fired for allegedly sleeping on the job is not entitled to collect unemployment benefits, an Iowa judge has ruled.

State records indicate Nicole Hamm was employed as a full-time nurse aide at Mason City’s MercyOne North Iowa Medical Center from Sept. 8, 2025, through March 10, 2026.

On March 8, 2026, Hamm was allegedly found sleeping in the room of a patient she was supposed to be watching at the time. The hospital alleged that a lead nurse went into the room and found Hamm “curled up in a chair with a blanket pulled over her head,” according to the findings of a judge who presided over Hamm’s recent unemployment-benefits hearing.

According to the judge’s findings, the hospital consulted with one of its “visual monitoring technicians” – employees who monitor patient rooms via video to ensure patient safety.  The technician watched the live-feed video from the patient’s room and confirmed Hamm was curled up in a chair with the blanket over her head for several hours, according to the judge’s findings.

During that same shift, the patient Hamm was charged with watching pulled out her IV tube and exhibited low oxygen levels, which Hamm failed to report, the hospital alleged.

After Hamm was fired, she applied for unemployment benefits which led to the recent unemployment hearing before Administrative Law Judge Brooke Axiotis.

“Ms. Hamm curled up in a chair in the room with the patient she was supposed to be watching and pulled the blanket over her head,” Axiotis stated in her ruling denying Hamm benefits. “Whether she was sleeping or not, this violates employer’s policies and is a serious patient-safety risk as she was not watching the patient during those hours.”

Iowa Capital Dispatch was unable to reach Hamm for comment.