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B.C. nurse disbarred for sexual misconduct against elderly woman

Gary Dromarsky has not been criminally charged, and cannot apply for reinstatement for at least five years
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Gary Dromarksy is no longer legally permitted to practise nursing in British Columbia. (Facebook/GaryDromarsky)

A B.C. nurse has been disbarred from the College of Registered Nurses of B.C. after being accused of sexual misconduct by an elderly woman.

Up until late last year, Gary Dromarsky was a home and community nurse with Island Health in Victoria and also maintained a private foot care practice. It was during an in-home visit in September 2017 that he improperly touched a 73-year-old woman.

In a consent agreement with the CRNBC that outlines the facts of this incident, Dromarsky admitted he acted “out of scope” when he put his hand under his client’s underwear and massaged her buttocks. While giving the massage, Dromarsky may have touched her genitals — the client described the touch as being in her vaginal area.

He received two complaints about the incident and was barred from working as a registered nurse in the province last December. A panel committee determined that Dromarsky’s conduct fell at the most serious end of the spectrum.

The matter was reported to police and to the college, but no criminal charges have been laid.

Dromarsky also signed a letter requiring him to stop all private nursing care, remain in the sole employ of his current employer, and see female clients only with a chaperone. Shortly afterwards he provided private foot care to two clients in their homes, breaching the terms.

In 2009 he was also disciplined for two incidents in which he acknowledged providing massage services to clients when attending for other treatment purposes. At the time he explained that he had intended to assist his clients, and had missed cues indicating that the massages were unwanted.

Dromarsky allowed his nursing registration to lapse on March 1, 2018. He is no longer legally permitted to practise nursing in British Columbia and cannot reapply for registration for at least five years.

The college is also warning the general public, saying that anyone considering hiring Dromarsky for private foot care services should exercise great caution.



ragnar.haagen@bpdigital.ca

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