Opinion ID: 166569
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Defendant Amy Hough, RN

Text: 53 Ms. Mata returned to the infirmary as directed by Ms. Weldon on the morning of October 30, with continuing complaints of severe chest pain. Ms. Quintana was the nurse on duty that morning. It is undisputed that Ms. Mata informed Ms. Quintana she had been suffering from severe chest pain since the evening of October 29, and her pain registered an eight in severity on a scale of zero to ten. In response to Ms. Mata's complaints, Ms. Quintana administered an EKG, which the machine printout read as normal. Ms. Quintana then provided Ms. Mata with a lay-in, or permission slip, excusing her from work and other prison duties for the duration of the day. Judge Baldock, joined by Judge Hartz, address below Ms. Mata's claim against Ms. Quintana. 54 Ms. Mata returned to the infirmary once more on the morning of October 31 at approximately 6:00 a.m. and informed Ms. Hough, a registered nurse, that [her] chest was just killing [her] and that [she] could hardly breathe. Aplt.App. at 185. In response, Ms. Hough instructed Ms. Mata to return at 7:00 a.m. when regular infirmary hours began. When Ms. Mata returned sometime after 7:00 a.m., Ms. Hough took Ms. Mata's vital signs and performed an EKG, which Ms. Hough read as normal. The computerized interpretation of the EKG, however, actually read abnormal changes possibly due to myocardial ischemia. Aplt.App. at 232. After performing the EKG, Ms. Hough reported Ms. Mata's chest pain to Ms. Saiz, a nurse practitioner, who had just arrived at the infirmary. Ms. Saiz then performed an independent assessment. 55 The district court concluded that Ms. Hough's actions failed to show deliberate indifference to plaintiff's serious medical needs. We agree. Unlike Ms. Weldon, Ms. Hough fulfilled her gatekeeper duty by reporting Ms. Mata's symptoms to a nurse practitioner in accordance with the DOC protocol for chest pain. The district court therefore correctly concluded that Ms. Hough was not deliberately indifferent to Ms. Mata's serious medical needs and was entitled to summary judgment on Ms. Mata's Eighth Amendment claims.