What Happened
A former registered nurse at Memorial Hospital of Converse County in Douglas, Wyoming, was sentenced in federal court in February 2018 for stealing narcotics and diluting patients' narcotics.
The former nurse had pleaded guilty in November to one count of tampering with a consumer product and one count of acquiring a controlled substance by misrepresentation, deception or subterfuge An indictment alleged tampering with 58 vials of hydromorphone (Dilaudid) and one container of meperidine (Demerol) by removing some or all of the drug and replacing it with saline solution. The sentence was two concurrent eight-month prison terms and two concurrent three-year supervised release terms, and the state nursing board suspended the nurse's license.
What the Record Shows
Sentenced to two concurrent eight-month prison terms and two concurrent three-year terms of supervised release, with home confinement except for court-approved activities, cognitive-behavioral treatment, and substance abuse treatment. The Wyoming State Board of Nursing suspended the nurse's 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: The former nurse pleaded guilty to one count of tampering with a consumer product and one count of acquiring a controlled substance by misrepresentation, deception or subterfuge. An indictment alleged tampering with 58 vials of hydromorphone and one container of meperidine by removing some or all of the drug and replacing it with saline solution. The former nurse admitted to stealing hydromorphone and a hospital spokesman said the former nurse personally used the drugs.. 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.