STUART — Martin Memorial officials have disciplined emergency room employees who shot and e-mailed cell phone photos of Stephen Howard Schafer after he was killed by a shark at Stuart Beach earlier this month, administrators announced this morning.

Hospital officials would not identify the employees or say how many were disciplined. The employees received anything from written warnings to suspensions or loss of their positions — but none were fired.

“Ultimately, we have determined that these inappropriate actions were taken by good people who exercised poor judgement,” said Miguel Coty, the hospital’s vice president and chief marketing communications officer.

Coty, who announced the end of the hospital’s internal investigation at a press conference this morning, said the hospital has not changed any policies in light of the incident. He said they have re-trained and re-educated hospital workers on the hospital’s policies regarding cell phone usage.

The hospital’s current policy is that patients and visitors to the hospital are allowed to take photos of their loved ones. But doctors, nurses and other hospital workers are prohibited from doing so unless they receive approval from the patient and a supervisor.

Coty said hospital administrators began investigating the incident the night Schafer died after someone informed a supervisor at the hospital that emergency room employees had taken the photos.

Coty said hospital administrators have not seen the photos, but he believes they were on Schafer’s injuries.

He said hospital administrators interviewed 50 people during their investigation. They also believe some of the people involved were not hospital employees.

Martin County Fire Rescue officials said emergency medical technicians who took Schafer from the beach to the hospital were questioned “informally to make sure none of them took any pictures.”

Out of respect for Schafer’s family, Coty and other hospital administrators have asked anyone who has or received or come across any of the photos to destroy the images.

Coty said the hospital would submit details from the investigation in their annual report to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

He said hospital officials have been in contact with Schafer’s family, but did not give any details about what they discussed.

Schafer’s stepfather, Edwin Cox, declined to discuss the incident when reached at home this afternoon.

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