Opinion ID: 166569
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Defendant Judy Saiz, NP

Text: 56 After performing an independent assessment of Ms. Mata, Ms. Saiz determined and informed Ms. Mata that her EKG was normal and that she was suffering from a chest lining inflammation. Nevertheless, Ms. Saiz faxed a copy of the EKG to Joseph Wermers, MD, a physician who was working at another DOC facility on the morning of October 31. After reviewing the EKG printout, Dr. Wermers determined that the second EKG showed an abnormal change from the EKG of October 30, and that Ms. Mata should be hospitalized to determine whether she had sustained a heart attack. He instructed Ms. Saiz to send Ms. Mata immediately to the emergency room. Ms. Saiz then instructed Ms. Mata to return to her unit to change into full greens for her trip to the hospital. After Ms. Mata had done so, she returned to the main prison facility. Thereafter, she was transported to the Parkview Hospital emergency by prison personnel. 57 The district court correctly granted summary judgment for Ms. Saiz with respect to her actions before she instructed Ms. Mata to return to her unit. Although Ms. Mata produced evidence that Ms. Saiz knew she was suffering severe chest pains and that severe chest pain posed a serious risk to Ms. Mata's health, Ms. Mata failed to show Ms. Saiz was deliberately indifferent to her serious medical needs. Like defendant Hough in Sealock, Ms. Saiz fulfilled her gatekeeper duty by faxing Ms. Mata's EKG printout to a physician in accordance with the DOC protocol for chest pain. 58 BALDOCK, J., joined by HARTZ, J., as to Defendant Quintana.