After being found unconscious during his shift in a patient’s room, a North Carolina in-home nurse was arrested and indicted on multiple felony charges. The nurse allegedly embezzled and misused narcotics that were prescribed for his patient. The indictment identified the medications as diazepam and/or methadone.
The indictment also indicates that the nurse “inflicted serious physical jury upon [the victim], a child under the age of 16 years, while providing care to and /or supervision to the child, when the defendant withheld medication from the child, resulting in serious physical injury to the child. The defendant’s willful conduct and/or grossly negligent omission in the care of the child was a reckless disregard for human life.”
After turning himself into county authorities, the defendant was confronted with charges of felony child abuse, inflicting physical injury, and felony embezzlement of a controlled substance. He was issued a $20,000 unsecured bond.
The accused nurse’s license was suspended by the North Carolina Board of Nursing, and he is scheduled to appear in county court in September.
Compliance Perspective
Protecting patients/residents from harmful medication errors and abuse associated with drug misappropriation presents a growing challenge for nursing homes faced with staffing shortages and state and federal regulations requiring competent and sufficient staffing. Nurses with drug addictions are being more and more frequently reported as those responsible for drug diversion.
Discussion Points:
- Review policies and procedures for management of controlled medications to ensure all safeguards are in place.
- Train employees regarding the facility’s policies on substance abuse and reporting of suspicions or indications of drug diversion or misuse to their supervisor or through the Hotline. Provide education on protocols designed to safeguard controlled medications, and the penalties for violations or diversion.
- Periodically audit to determine if policies and procedures for securing controlled medications are being followed. Review narcotic sign-out logs compared to Medication Administration Records (MAR) for agreement. Periodically ask residents designated on the MAR as receiving pain medication about the consistency of their pain relief.
