Incidentcase113

A staff member allegedly stole drugs from eight clients at the Benedictine Living Community of Duluth. They told an investigator it was easy to do so because “storage and management of medications was poor.”

The Minnesota Department of Health’s Office of Health Facility Complaints on Tuesday reported a substantiated finding of maltreatment at the complex’s Marywood assisted-living facility because of a staff member who allegedly “diverted medications from multiple clients.”

The administrator of the Benedictine Living Community of Duluth said his team discovered the theft, reported it and took steps to prevent it from happening in the future.

The state’s report found the staff member took 222 units of hydrocodone/acetaminophen, 42 units of an anticonvulsant and an unknown amount of liquid units of hydromorphone, among other medications. Most were opioids or other forms of pain reliever. Based on interviews with staff, th report concluded that “staff members rarely counted the medications, key control was not exclusive and access to medications were often uncontrolled.” It also cited nurses and “the provider’s internal investigation documents” as claiming the facility didn’t have enough qualified and competent nurses to ensure security and accountability of clients’ medications.

The staff member substituted acetaminophen tables for hydrocodone/acetaminophen tablets, Hatch reported, and someone diluted the liquid medications.

The staff member admitted to diverting hydrocodone and possibly diverting hydromorphone and a cough syrup, the report states.