Nurse Convicted of Stealing Meds Had History of Complaints
Nurse Convicted of Stealing Meds Had History of Complaints
Nurse fired from three different home health agencies for stealing patients drugs, and sentenced to 18 months in prison.
La Vang, a nurse, was fired from three separate home health agencies in 2017-2018.
In November 2017, he was fired from Around the Clock Home Health Care for allegedly stealing patients’ narcotic pain medications.
In December 2017, he was fired again. Hennepin Home Health Care cited him for failing to show up for patient assignments. But after his firing, four patients came forward to say that their pain medicine had disappeared after Vang had visited their homes. KARE 11 learned that the Minnesota Department of Health began investigating the suspected medication thefts at Hennepin Health Care. Records show they interviewed patients and staff and concluded a nurse stole oxycodone pain tablets. Vang isn’t named in the document, but KARE 11 has confirmed he is the nurse involved. MDH forwarded a copy of their findings to the Board of Nursing in March 2018.
Around that same time, In March 2018, he was assigned by home health agency Lifespark to assist LaVonne Borsheim in March 2018, it seemed like a lifesaver for her husband Roger. The cocktail of pain medications and other pills were a lot to keep track of. “We didn’t know what we were doing. We just trusted, totally trusted La,” Roger said.
Lifesprk, a home health agency, assigned La Vang to assist LaVonne Borsheim. The family alerted the police when tests revealed she wasn’t getting her medicines. He’d been dismissed twice before for failing to show up for work and missing patient assignments. After Vang had already been charged with stealing, the Minnesota Board of Nursing did not take public action.
Because complaints aren’t made public, there’s no way of knowing how many additional nurses are falling through the cracks, according to Rep. Tina Liebling (DFL-Rochester).
“When considering an Order for Temporary Suspension, the Board must determine whether the nurse’s continued practice poses an imminent risk of serious harm and whether the Board has sufficient evidence to prove a violation of the law before an Administrative Law Judge in a hearing that must occur within 30 days,” Shirley Brekken, Executive Director of the Board of Nursing, said in a statement. Vang eventually pleaded guilty in federal court to obtaining a controlled substance by fraud. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Approximate date(s) of the diversion:
11/01/2017
Where the Diversion Occurred:
Around the Clock Home Health Care
2257 Louisiana Ave S, St. Louis Park, MN 55426, USA
Type of Healthcare Facility:
Home Health Care
Person Diverting:
La Vang
Profession of the person diverting:
Nurse
Patients were injured. Were they infected, filed lawsuits, or died as a result of this diversion incident?
Did not receive pain medications
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?
