Incident 33848

A former Council Bluffs nurse faces felony charges. Pottawattamie County prosecutors said she stole nearly 2,000 pain pills from a Council Bluffs nursing home.

It’s red flags from the pharmacist and a billing discrepancy that brought the thefts to light. Now Bethany Lutheran home is changing policies, so it doesn’t happen again. And the nurse they believe is responsible is going to trial.

“A tenant had come forward stating that she thought her pharmacy bill was incorrect,” Samantha Roth, executive director of Bethany Lutheran Heights said.

A resident noticed she’d paid for more oxycodone than had been delivered to her.

“My director of nursing did a review of the bill, called the pharmacy and immediately launched an investigation into what was happening,” Roth said.

That review found that four residents had been billed for hydrocodone and oxycodone that was never logged into the home’s system.

“The nurse had placed the order and the nurse had also received the medication,” Roth said.

Council Bluffs police said that nurse had stolen around 1,900 pills in a matter of months in 2017.

Officers said she ordered excessive amounts of prescription refills, and only entered a portion into the home’s medication log. Reports show she also tried filling a prescription early when that patient should have had around 90 left. And they believe she stole 96 pills straight out of a patients locked room.

In fact, pharmacists were on to her. Reports said they had red flagged her and were planning to tell Bethany staff.

“The pharmacists are able to see everything coming through and see those red flags that maybe you missed,” Roth said.

The home has changed the way staff orders and logs painkillers.

“We have only two staff members that can order the narcotics. They do not receive it anymore, other staff members receive it, log it, record it. Then the two who ordered it do an audit of the medications,” Roth said.

Bethany staff said they do background checks and drug tests on all hires. The nurse faces two felonies, theft and possession of a controlled substance. She pleaded not guilty, and her trial is set for January. She could face 25 years in jail.

UPDATE:  In December, 2018 Mandi Newsom accepted a plea deal, including 2 years of probation and a $1,000 fine.