In a shocking incident that has sparked widespread outrage, a group of healthcare workers at Sansum Clinic in Santa Barbara, California, were terminated after a TikTok video surfaced showing them mocking bodily fluid stains left by patients on exam tables. The video, which went viral over the Labor Day weekend of 2025, featured employees posing and joking about the stains, captioning them as “gifts” from patients.
This unprofessional and disrespectful behavior led to swift action from Sutter Health, the organization overseeing Sansum Clinic, resulting in the firing of the involved staff members. The incident has raised serious questions about patient dignity, professional ethics, and the role of social media in healthcare settings.
The Viral TikTok Video and Its Content
The now-deleted TikTok video, originally posted by a former employee under the handle @angieuncut, consisted of a series of six photos that depicted eight healthcare workers at Sansum Clinic’s Pesetas Urgent Care facility engaging in inappropriate behavior. The video began with a group photo of seven employees in scrubs, accompanied by the caption, “Are patients allowed to leave you guys gifts?” Subsequent images showed individual staff members posing next to exam table paper stained with what appeared to be bodily fluids, likely from procedures such as pap smears.
One image featured a female worker giving a thumbs-up next to a small stain, with the text “Yes!” overlaid. Another showed a worker bending over a larger stain, sticking out her tongue, with the caption “All shapes and sizes.” The final photo depicted multiple employees gathered around an exam table, some in a mocking prayer-like pose, with the text, “Make sure to leave your healthcare workers sweet gifts like these!” The video’s overall caption, “Guess the substance!” further amplified the insensitivity, framing the stains as a source of amusement.
The video was posted over the Labor Day weekend and quickly gained traction on TikTok before being removed by the original poster, who had left Sansum Clinic in late July 2025. However, screenshots and screen recordings were widely shared across platforms like Reddit, Instagram, and Yelp, fueling public outrage.
NEW: California urgent care workers fired after TikTok shows them posing with patients’ bodily fluids on exam tables
— Unlimited L's (@unlimited_ls) September 4, 2025
Sutter Health, which oversees Sansum Clinic, said the video was posted over Labor Day weekend by a former employee who left the organization in late July
TikTok… pic.twitter.com/44D4FmILuN
Many viewers condemned the behavior as “dehumanizing” and “unethical,” with some mistakenly assuming the photos were taken at an OB/GYN clinic. Sutter Health clarified that the incident occurred at the Pesetas Urgent Care facility, not an OB/GYN clinic, but this did little to quell the backlash. The viral nature of the video and the public’s swift reaction underscored the power of social media to amplify unprofessional conduct and hold individuals accountable.
Sutter Health’s Response and Employee Terminations
Sutter Health, the nonprofit healthcare network that oversees Sansum Clinic, responded promptly to the controversy. Upon being notified of the video by concerned patients, the organization launched an internal investigation. Within 24 hours, the employees involved were placed on administrative leave, and within another 24 hours, all those who appeared in the video were terminated.
In a statement released on September 3, 2025, Sutter Health condemned the behavior, stating, “This unacceptable behavior is an outright violation of our policies, shows a lack of respect for our patients, and will not be tolerated. Protecting the trust of those we serve is our highest priority, and when that trust is violated, we take swift action to address it.” The organization also clarified that the individual who posted the video was a former employee who had not worked at the clinic for two months, raising questions about how and when the photos were taken and whether current employees were complicit in the creation of the content.
Read : 12-Year-Old Caden Ballard Hospitalized with Severe Burns After TikTok Experiment Goes Horribly Wrong
Sansum Clinic issued its own statement on Instagram, emphasizing its commitment to patient dignity and privacy. “We expect all team members to live our patients-first mission and uphold the highest standards of compassion, professionalism, and respect,” the statement read. The clinic also announced plans to reinforce its comprehensive policies across the organization to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Sutter Health provided an email address, patientadvocacy@sutterhealth.org, for patients to discuss their healthcare experiences and directed those who felt their privacy or dignity was violated to file complaints with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights. The swift terminations and public statements were met with approval from many online, with one X user commenting, “Sansum Clinic acted correctly by firing those responsible, showing that disrespect and unprofessional behavior must face serious consequences.”
Public Outrage and Ethical Implications
The public reaction to the TikTok video was swift and intense, with hundreds of users across social media platforms expressing shock and disgust. On Reddit’s r/Santabarbara community, the post garnered over 1,000 comments, with users describing the behavior as “horrific” and “disgraceful.” One commenter, identifying as a nurse, expressed second-hand embarrassment, stating, “This is beyond unprofessional and unethical.”
Another user wrote, “It’s insane to me how many people were involved in this and not one thought it was wrong.” Yelp reviews for Sansum Clinic also reflected the backlash, with one reviewer stating, “These are extremely cruel, genuinely soulless, heartless, and brainless people. I am considering leaving Sansum as a whole after this.” The sentiment online was clear: the healthcare workers’ actions were a betrayal of the trust patients place in medical professionals.
This incident highlights broader ethical concerns in the healthcare industry, particularly regarding the intersection of social media and patient care. Healthcare workers are entrusted with sensitive information and are expected to treat patients’ vulnerabilities with compassion and discretion. The act of photographing and mocking bodily fluids left on exam tables not only violates patient dignity but also undermines the safe space that medical facilities are meant to provide.
As one X user noted, “These people know they don’t have to work in healthcare, right? Makes me so sad that we can’t even trust anyone at the doctors either, very scary and sad.” Some called for harsher consequences, with one user stating, “Every single employee who participated in these videos needs to have their license revoked. Fired isn’t enough.”
The incident also raises questions about workplace culture and oversight at Sansum Clinic. The fact that multiple employees participated in the video without any apparent hesitation suggests a potential lapse in training or supervision. The involvement of a former employee who had left the organization two months prior further complicates the situation, prompting speculation about whether the photos were taken during their employment or if current staff facilitated the content creation. This has led to calls for stronger policies on social media use in healthcare settings and better mechanisms to ensure professional conduct.
The Sansum Clinic incident serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of blurring personal and professional boundaries in the digital age. While social media can be a tool for connection and engagement, its misuse in sensitive professions like healthcare can have severe consequences.
The fired employees’ actions not only cost them their jobs but also damaged the reputation of Sansum Clinic, which describes itself as the “largest nonprofit outpatient healthcare organization between Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area.” The clinic’s swift response demonstrates an attempt to rebuild trust, but the incident has left a lasting impact on patients and the community, many of whom are now questioning the professionalism of the healthcare providers they rely on.
In conclusion, the firing of eight healthcare workers at Sansum Clinic for mocking patients in a viral TikTok video underscores the critical importance of maintaining ethical standards in healthcare. The video, which trivialized patients’ bodily fluids as “gifts,” sparked justified outrage and prompted swift action from Sutter Health.
As the healthcare industry navigates the challenges of social media, this incident serves as a stark reminder that compassion, professionalism, and respect must remain at the forefront of patient care. For patients, the betrayal of trust is a sobering wake-up call, emphasizing the need for accountability and robust policies to protect their dignity in medical settings.