Elizabeth A. Prophitt, CRNA, 38, a former certified registered nurse anesthetist, was arraigned on an indictment charging her with fraudulently obtaining controlled substances, including several opioids. She previously worked at the VA Hospital in Ann Arbor. As alleged in the indictment, Prophitt utilized her position as a surgical nurse aesthesis to retrieved vials of controlled substance medications from hospital dispensing machines for purported use on patients. The purpose of obtaining these controlled substances was not for the legitimate treatment of patients, but rather for her own personal consumption and/or drug diversion. It is alleged that Prophitt would retrieve medications on days when she was unscheduled to work or after normal working hours; retrieve medications for patients that were not on her surgery service; retrieve medications for surgeries that had been cancelled or had already been completed; retrieve more medication than required for a patient’s surgery and keep the unused portions; and falsify “waste” records to keep any unused medication instead of properly returning or disposing of the controlled substances. Prophitt exploited her knowledge of her employer’s internal controls to obtain these controlled substances, which would go unnoticed. From July 2018 to February 2019, she accessed more than 2200 vials of controlled substances such as fentanyl, hydromorphone, morphine and midazolam, which were believed to be obtained by fraud, misrepresentation and deceit.
