Hospice Nurse Charged with Theft of Controlled Substance

A Lexington hospice nurse was charged with theft and possession of a controlled substance after she was accused of stealing pain medication from a dying patient.

She was taken into custody in August 2020, according to court records. In addition to theft and possession of opiates, she was also charged with evidence tampering, according to court records.

Doris Grant died around 9:30 a.m. Monday, according to a Facebook post from Theresa Oiler, her daughter. Oiler posted multiple live videos to Facebook Sunday, and said during the videos that police were at her residence arresting the nurse.

Oiler said police showed up, searched the nurse’s car and found stolen medication. While police were on scene, Oiler said the family was waiting on another nurse to arrive and administer morphine for her mother. Her mother, Oiler said, “was taking her last breaths.”

Officers were called to the home on Whiteberry Drive and found the nurse to be in possession of “several dozen” pills, according to Brenna Angel, a spokeswoman for the Lexington Police Department. They were suspected to be Oxycodone pills, Angel said.

Grant was having seizures and convulsions Sunday morning, according to Oiler’s Facebook page. The nurse claimed she was disposing of the pills, according to Oiler.

“She took the pill bottle into my bathroom and pretended to dump them in the toilet, and I heard her not dump them in the toilet,” Oiler said in one of her live videos. “I said, ‘What did you just do?’ She said, ‘I just disposed of those pills.’ I said, ‘no you didn’t.’”

Oiler said she’s worked as a hospice nurse herself, and disposing of pills without witnesses is against protocol. She said the nurse worked for Bluegrass Care Navigators.

Amy Doane, vice president of marketing for Bluegrass Care Navigators, said the company “has a zero-tolerance policy for issues such as substance abuse or theft.”

“With any situation involving a police investigation, our organization fully cooperates and supports local agencies involved,” she said.

She also said Bluegrass Care Navigators could not comment on personal information regarding patients, their families or employees, but said the company has “strict protocols and training in place regarding medication management, medication waste and medication diversion, and take these issues with the utmost seriousness.”

The nurse was scheduled to be arraigned in Fayette County District Court Monday afternoon, according to court records.