What Happened
A former registered nurse at Memorial Hospital of Converse County in Douglas, Wyoming, pleaded not guilty in federal court to four counts alleging tampering with consumer products and acquiring Schedule II controlled substances.
The indictment alleged the nurse removed hydromorphone (Dilaudid) and meperidine (Demerol) from vials or containers and replaced the drugs with saline solution, including alleged tampering with 58 vials of hydromorphone and one container of meperidine. The hospital placed the nurse on administrative leave and the Wyoming State Board of Nursing suspended the license; a hospital spokesman said the former nurse admitted to stealing hydromorphone and had been cooperative. The case came to light when pharmacy staff found irregularities in access to hydromorphone through the hospital's automated medication dispensing system.
What the Record Shows
Pleaded not guilty to four counts; placed on administrative leave and license suspended by the Wyoming State Board of Nursing; remains free on an unsecured bond and a trial was set.
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: Alleged tampering with consumer products by removing some or all of hydromorphone and meperidine and replacing the drugs with saline solution; alleged acquiring Schedule II controlled substances by removing them from their containers and replacing them with saline solution. A hospital spokesman said the former nurse admitted to stealing hydromorphone.. 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.