What Happened
Three former nurses for Trinity Hospital's Home Health and Hospice program were accused of stealing drugs prescribed for hospice patients between December 2012 and September 2014.
Two of the nurses were also charged with endangering a patient by diluting medication or giving morphine instead of prescribed hydromorphine Those two were reported to the North Dakota Board of Nursing in 2014 and voluntarily surrendered their licenses after admitting to the board's allegations. The third nurse was arrested and charged with theft of property, and police were seeking the other two.
What the Record Shows
Charged with felony offenses; two voluntarily surrendered nursing licenses after admitting to board allegations; one arrested and signed promise to appear.
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: Accused of stealing drugs prescribed for hospice patients; two charged with endangering a patient by diluting medication or giving morphine instead of prescribed hydromorphine; alleged conspiracy to steal drugs; one allegedly confessed to ingesting unused medication and self-administering for over a year; investigation found multiple drug diversions in records of 104 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.