Incident 40165
Incident 40165
Nurse sentenced to federal prison for taking painkillers from hospital patients’ intravenous lines and injecting herself.
A Cedar Rapids nurse was sentenced to four months in federal prison for taking painkillers from hospital patients’ intravenous lines and injecting herself.
Kelly Postel, 43, of Anamosa, was sentenced in June 2020 to the prison term and fined $5500, federal prosecutors said in a news release. She also was ordered to pay restitution for the cost of the drugs stolen and legal fees and forfeit her nursing license.
Postel had pleaded guilty in February to two counts of acquiring morphine and fentanyl on multiple occasions from October through December 2018..
Prosecutors say Postel obtained an excess amount of fentanyl and morphine from the hospital pharmacy and administered patients’ prescribed amounts and then injected herself while at work with the leftover drugs. Authorities also say Postel took fentanyl from a patient by using a syringe to withdraw it from an intravenous line and injected herself while still at work.
Where the Diversion Occurred:
Mercy Medical Center and Hall-Perrine Cancer Center
701 10th St SE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52403, USA
Type of Healthcare Facility:
Hospital
Person Diverting:
Kelly Postel
Profession of the person diverting:
Nurse
Has the incident been reported?
e.g. to local law enforcement, county board of health, state licensure board, and/or federal DEA or FDA authorities?
Yes
To whom has the incident been reported?
Drug Enforcement Administration
