A former nursing director has been charged with drug-related offenses after an investigation revealed he stole over 1,500 oxycodone pills from two New York nursing homes. The charges stem from his past role at these facilities, where he was responsible for handling unused medication.
On August 14, 2024, the 52-year-old defendant was arraigned on multiple charges, including criminal possession of a controlled substance in the first and third degrees, 26 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree, and two counts each of falsifying business records in the second degree, fraud and deceit related to controlled substances, and petit larceny.
According to the charges and investigation, the defendant applied for a management job at a Jackson Heights nursing home in May 2023. He left blank the answer to a question on the job application that asked if he had ever been convicted of a crime. He had two prior criminal convictions in Nassau County including one felony.
He was hired on May 4, 2023, as the acting director of nursing services. His duties included managing the collection and disposal of unused narcotics. The nursing home’s procedures required information on unused medication to be logged into an internal database and then the drugs were to be placed into a locked receptacle.
He was terminated on May 12, 2023. Following his departure, a state Department of Health audit on June 26, 2023, found that 141 oxycodone pills were missing from a disposal receptacle. The pills, which he had accepted for disposal, were not found in the bin, although packaging was discovered in a desk he used, and all but one were missing. He contended that he had put the loose pills in the disposal bin, but they were not found there.
On May 18, 2023, the defendant applied for a management position at a different New York nursing home. He did not answer an application question about whether he had ever been convicted of a crime. He was hired on May 22, 2023, first as assistant director of nursing services and later as director of nursing services. He managed the collection, documentation, and disposal of unused prescription medication. The defendant and the nursing home administrator were the only employees who could access locked drug receptacle bins, which were in the defendant’s office.
In March 2024, an audit revealed that 1,534 oxycodone pills from 66 prescriptions were missing. The defendant, who had acknowledged receipt of pills from 26 of these prescriptions, was terminated last month. He was arrested on August 13, 2024.
Compliance Perspective
Issue
Experts estimate that 10–15 percent of our nation’s population struggles with impairment from alcohol or drug dependency. Within healthcare settings, those in positions with access to controlled substances, such as nurses, are particularly vulnerable to substance use disorders. Research suggests that as many as one in ten nurses may be affected by such disorders. Therefore, it is crucial for healthcare facilities to implement proactive diversion-prevention programs. Failure to address this issue can negatively impact residents’ quality of care, raise legal and ethical concerns, and result in severe regulatory citations once a diversion problem is discovered. Individuals who divert medications often develop various methods to conceal their actions. Efforts to prevent diversion must focus on identifying the medications most likely to be misappropriated, recognizing signs of diversion, and detecting signs of impairment.
Discussion Points
- Review your policies and procedures on preventing, identifying, and responding to drug diversion. Update as needed.
- Train appropriate staff on actions that can be taken to prevent, identify, and respond to any suspicion of drug diversion. Provide education on the impact of drug diversion on residents as a form of abuse and neglect, staff responsibility to report concerns immediately, and the consequences of theft of controlled substances. Document that the trainings occurred, and place the signed document in each employee’s education file. Med-Net Academy offers all clients three PowerPoint training programs in our Substance Use category. Visit MNA to access all three.
- Periodically audit to ensure that all controlled substances are accounted for on each shift, and that proper documentation of controlled substances has occurred. Your consultant pharmacist can be included in this effort.
*This news alert has been prepared by Med-Net Concepts, LLC for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal advice.*
