What Happened
A former nurse at Mayo Regional Hospital in Dover-Foxcroft, Maine, pleaded guilty Monday to Class C theft for stealing about $8,000 worth of drugs, including hydromorphone, from the hospital between 2008 and 2009.
An investigation began when the hospital's pharmacy director noticed he was ordering larger quantities of certain drugs than usual and suspected diversion. The nurse took the drugs but did not administer them to patients, instead injecting them to dull pain from a previous injury, according to her attorney Sentencing was continued; the district attorney recommended two years in prison with all but 90 days suspended and two years of probation.
What the Record Shows
pleaded guilty to Class C theft; sentencing continued; district attorney recommended two years in prison with all but 90 days suspended and two years of probation
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: stole about $8,000 worth of drugs from her employer, took the drugs, did not administer them to patients, injected them into her body to dull pain from a previous injury. 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.