Incidentcase56

The Board of Nursing revoked the licenses of a registered nurses who diverted medication from a hospital in Mountain Home and pleaded guilty to drug-related crimes.

According to a board order, Bruce R. Clendenin, R.N., of Greeneville, stole patients’ medications and falsified records while employed at the James H. Quillen Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Mountain Home. His license was revoked, and he was fined $3,000 after pleading guilty to obtaining drugs by fraud. The board order states Clendenin worked at the veterans hospital from August 2007 until June 5, 2009. That is when he was found in possession of seven patient identification armbands for drug administration and nine vials of controlled substances including hydromorphone and morphine. He refused a drug test. An investigation revealed Clendenin used the armbands to falsify records of having administered controlled substances to patients. In one case, Clendenin documented having given a controlled substance to a patient who had been dead approximately 20 minutes. Other patients reported Clendenin had not given them medication at the times he had documented. A June 6, 2009, review of Clendenin’s records revealed discrepancies in a majority of 357 drug withdrawals documented between March and June 2009. Of the total, 24 did not reflect patient administration, 57 did not reflect disposal, and 125 involved other discrepancies such as having been administered in the wrong dose, given by another nurse, or having disposed of the wrong amount. On Aug. 13, 2010, Clendenin pleaded guilty to a federal charge of obtaining controlled substances by fraud in U.S. District Court in Greeneville.