What Happened
A Denver hospital nurse was sentenced to five years of probation after pleading guilty to stealing most of a bag of fentanyl intended for a comatose, intubated ICU patient by lowering the IV pump's drip rate and falsifying the flow-rate record, then draining a second fentanyl bag into a cup and refilling it with saline before hospital staff intervened.
What the Record Shows
On March 3, 2021, stole most of an IV fentanyl bag from a comatose, intubated patient by lowering the pump's drip rate and failing to accurately document the flow rate, then drained a second fentanyl bag into a cup and refilled the bag with saline before hospital staff interrupted him; admitted diverting fentanyl by labeling it 'waste' since late 2020 Sentenced to five years of probation for obtaining a controlled substance by fraud and deception
Why It Matters for Diversion Programs
This entry comes from a primary licensing-board or law-enforcement record rather than a secondary aggregator, and it is recorded as reported. Board and news records are a lagging indicator - by the time a licensing authority or reporter learns of a diversion, the diversion was normally detected internally first, which makes each entry a signal that inventory reconciliation, waste observation, or dispensing oversight failed earlier.