What Happened
A former emergency room nurse at CHI Health St.
Elizabeth in Lincoln resigned in July 2022 after hospital investigators found 55 discrepancies among more than 200 fentanyl checkouts from the pharmacy between May and June 2022, according to a Nebraska State Patrol investigation. Investigators said 2.65 mg of fentanyl was unaccounted for, and in some cases the nurse checked out the drug without a doctor's order or reported administering it within five minutes of patient discharge After denying stealing or using the drug, the nurse's urine tested positive for fentanyl; she later pleaded guilty to acquiring a controlled substance by fraud and was sentenced to three years of probation. She gave up her nursing license.
What the Record Shows
Pleaded guilty to acquiring a controlled substance by fraud; sentenced to three years of probation; gave up nursing license.
Why It Matters for Diversion Programs
This entry comes from a news source rather than a federal enforcement release, and it is recorded as reported: Checked out fentanyl from the hospital pharmacy more than 200 times between May and June 2022; 55 discrepancies were found; 2.65 mg of fentanyl was unaccounted for; in some cases checked out fentanyl without a doctor's order and in others reported administering it within five minutes of patient discharge; denied stealing or using the drug but urine tested positive for fentanyl.. Board and news records are a lagging indicator - by the time a licensing authority or a 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.