What’s up with Minnesota caregivers’ stealing medications from their patients? In today’s Minneapolis Star Tribune, Brad Schrade reports about a nurse anesthetist “who administered more drugs than necessary to patients because that meant “there would be more for him to divert” (citing state records).
The news report states that a patient died in 1999 because the nurse anesthetist and a colleague allegedly botched a medical procedure. In 2001, he entered a state treatment program for the second time in 2001 after he “again diverted fentanyl for personal use and performed procedures on patients while under the use of fentanyl” (citing a state report).
Click here to view the Star Tribune article.
WCCO.TV reported this past September about a Twin Cities nurse accused of stealing her patient’s pain medication (Fentanyl) before surgery so she could have it herself. As a result, according to investigating police authorities, the nurse gave the patient only one-third of the medication he was supposed to have before kidney stone surgery. Click here to view the WCCO report.
KSAX.TV reported that a nursing aide stole painkiller patches (Fentanyl) from mentally and physically impaired patients at a Fergus Falls nursing home where she worked. Click here to view the report.
The prevalence of such stories begs the question: How vigilent is the supervision in care facilities where caregivers steal pain medications? Narcotics are a serious business. Depriving patients of pain medication they need is heartless. When your trust in caregivers has been violated, contact the Kosieradzki Smith Law Firm online or toll free at (877) 552-2873 for a free initial consultation.
