What Happened
A former registered nurse was federally indicted in July 2017 on eight counts of tampering with a consumer product and eight counts of fraudulently obtaining a controlled substance.
Prosecutors allege the nurse diverted morphine and the narcotic dilaudid, injected herself with the drugs, and then administered those drugs to others, and that seven patients were infected with a hepatitis C strain the nurse carries; health officials estimated as many as 7,200 patients may have been exposed at two hospitals Charging records state the nurse surrendered a nursing license in November 2015, and state licensing records state the nurse admitted to taking drugs from an employer while working at both hospitals.
What the Record Shows
Indicted on eight counts of tampering with a consumer product and eight counts of fraudulently obtaining a controlled substance; surrendered nursing license in November 2015
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 diversion of controlled substances by injecting herself with morphine and dilaudid and then administering the tampered drugs to patients. 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.