Arkansas News Bureau

LITTLE ROCK — A federal judge sentenced a doctor and two former hospital employees to a year’s probation each today after they admitted to violating federal privacy laws by looking at the medical records of slain TV reporter Anne Pressly.

Dr. Jay Holland of Little Rock also was fined $5,000 and ordered to perform 50 hours of community service educating professionals on the importance of patient privacy under the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, also known as HIPAA.

Sarah Elizabeth Miller of England, a former account representative at the St. Vincent Medical Center in Sherwood, was fined $2,500 and Candida Griffin, a former emergency room unit coordinator at St. Vincent’s main hospital in Little Rock, was fined $1,500.

The three pleaded guilty in July to misdemeanor violations of the health information privacy provisions of HIPAA for accessing Pressly’s medical records without any legitimate purpose.

The hospital suspended Holland’s hospital privileges for two weeks and required him to complete an on-line HIPAA training course. Miller and Griffin were fired.

“We hope that (Monday’s) sentencings send the message that the HIPAA protections apply to every person in the community, regardless of their position or stature,” U.S. Attorney Jane Duke said in a statement. “Likewise, the penalties for violating HIPAA apply equally to every person with access to protected health information.”

Pressly, a morning anchor for Little Rock television station KATV, was found severely beaten in her Little Rock home on Oct. 20, 2008. She died five days later without regaining consciousness.

Police arrested Curtis Lavelle Vance on a capital murder charge Nov. 26.