Former director of nursing charged, accused of stealing opioids from patients at Summittville retirement home

by: Izzy Karpinski

SUMMITTVILLE, Ind. — What started as the discovery of 30 missing pills snowballed into more than 250 pills unaccounted for at a Madison County retirement home.

A Medicaid fraud investigator with the Office of the Indiana Attorney General investigated Summit Health and Living (SHL) in Summittville after employees’ concerns with the director of nursing at the time, Jennifer Wilson.

According to the investigator’s report, the facility was made aware of a discrepancy in its narcotic count on February 13. As part of state and federal guidelines, SHL tracks all controlled substances and keeps a narcotic count sheet. Staff is also required to fill out drug destruction forms when medication is taken off the nursing cart but not given to a patient.

Wilson, a registered nurse, was tasked with destroying hydrocodone pills prescribed to a resident. When a fellow administrator followed up with Wilson, she was told the issue “was taken care of.” However, the co-worker could not find the accompanying count sheet.

Court documents show Wilson’s colleague went into her office to find the sheet and instead found 30 hydrocodone pills concealed in a manila folder in the back of a desk drawer.

Wilson was questioned by the facility’s administrator the next day and admitted she had stolen the medication for personal use due to her addiction.

An internal audit found approximately 261 pills unaccounted for and believed to have been stolen. The pills in question were hydrocodone and Percocets and were prescribed to at least four patients.

During the investigation, Wilson revealed she would take pills that had been marked for “discontinuation.” She said she was at SHL for a few months before she gave in to her addiction.

Wilson was booked into the Madison County Jail on obtaining controlled substance by fraud, possession of narcotic and furnishing false or fraudulent information charges.

She was fired from SHL after an internal investigation.

Full Article & Source:
Former director of nursing charged, accused of stealing opioids from patients at Summittville retirement home