A healthcare system center in California terminated several employees for posting “inappropriate and insensitive photos” of themselves posing with patients’ bodily fluids on social media.

Sutter Health, which operates Sansum Clinic, an urgent care facility in Santa Barbara, California, where the content was purportedly filmed, said in a Sept. 3 news release that the employees responsible were terminated after the videos came to light.

“Protecting the trust of those we serve is our highest priority, and when that trust is violated, we take swift action to address it,” Sutter Health said. “Within 24 hours of becoming aware of the posts, we placed the employees on administrative leave, and within another 24 hours, we terminated those involved as part of this ongoing investigation.”

“This unacceptable behavior is an outright violation of our policies, shows a lack of respect for our patients, and will not be tolerated,” Sutter Health added in the news release.

Sutter Health did not clarify how many employees were fired but told USA TODAY that “any employee seen (and) who knowingly took part in the inappropriate photos, they are no longer employed with us.”

What was in the Sansum Clinic video?

About eight people were purportedly seen in the video at the Sansum Clinic, mocking and posing with patients’ bodily fluids inside medical exam rooms.

Text on one image being circulated on social media reads, “Are patients allowed to leave you guys gifts?” The text is followed by slides showing staff laughing, pointing, and posing around the stains with the caption: “Guess the substance!”

In the last frame of the post, the text above a group photo reads: “Make sure to leave your healthcare workers sweet gifts like these!”

Former employee posted video, Sutter Health says

Sutter Health told USA TODAY on Sept. 4 that the video was posted to TikTok by a former employee who left the organization in late July, clarifying that the individual was not employed with the company at the time the video was posted. The video has been removed by the individual who originally posted it, but it remains on the internet.

“We expect all team members to live our patients-first mission and uphold the highest standards of compassion, professionalism and respect,” Sutter Health said. “We are using this inappropriate incident to reinforce our comprehensive policies with all our team members across the organization as part of our commitment to providing all patients with high-quality, compassionate care.”

The photos were not taken at an OB/GYN clinic, Sutter Health said, clarifying they were taken at Sansum’s urgent care clinic in Santa Barbara.

Sutter Health patients concerned about the incident and want to discuss their health care experience at the facility can email patientadvocacy@sutterhealth.org for assistance. Patients who believe their privacy or dignity was violated within or outside of the Sutter Health network can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights at hhs.gov/hipaa/filing-a-complaint.

Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.