AUSTIN, TX — The Texas State Board has suspended her nursing license Co-Director of Camp Mystic In a stinging order, he accused her of not helping the children evacuate during… Disastrous floods last year That killed 25 girls and two teenage counselors.
It is one of the first actions the state has taken against a member of the family that owns and operates the girls’ Christian camp since the July 4 flood. Last month, Camp Mystic Reopening plans have been cancelled This summer, he faced the wrath of the victims’ families.
Mary Liz Eastland, a registered nurse, served as the camp’s medical officer. She previously admitted in court that she never tried to reach children and staff in the low-lying area of the camp as pre-dawn flooding worsened along the Guadalupe River. Her father-in-law, Mystic Camp owner Richard Eastland, also died in the flood.
Allowing Mary Liz Eastland to continue practicing nursing would pose a “continuing and imminent threat to the public welfare,” according to an order signed by Christine Benton, executive director of the Texas Board of Nursing, on Tuesday.
Eastland “abandoned campers and staff when flooding began at the camp site…by evacuating herself and her children to higher ground without providing any assistance or direction to all other campers and staff,” the order said.
Camp Mystic attorney Joshua Viveson said Eastland rejects the findings and will fight suspension. He said the board suspended her license with less than one day’s notice of a hearing and without taking testimony or conducting a full investigation.
“This is a sad day for Ms. Eastland as well as every licensed nurse in Texas,” Fifeson said. “This was an exercise in early punishment.”
Under the order, the council will issue a final decision on its license within two months.
Since the flood, the Eastland family has come under intense criticism from victims’ families and Texas lawmakers. Several families filed lawsuits against Eastlands, which proceeded for months with its reopening plans before eventually backing down.
In April, legislative hearings Laid naked The camp lacked detailed planning for flood emergencies, relied on poorly trained staff, and missed opportunities to evacuate children from cabins near the river.
During the hearings, Mary Liz Eastland recounted her steps that night when she and her children left their home to join her mother-in-law. She described water flowing into the house and breaking a window while escaping. The family managed to reach higher ground.
She and other staff gathered survivors for a head count and checked names on cabin lists. She said she was unable to pass through rising flood waters to reach the two camps closest to the Guadalupe River.
Eastland was also pressed as to why she, as the camp’s chief medical officer, did not attempt to contact or alert other medical staff to reach the camp before the disaster struck. When asked if other staff could help evacuate the camp, she said: “Maybe so.”