Buffalo, NY (WBEN) A former nurse at Roswell Park is charged with tampering and fraud to obtain controlled substances.
Prosecutors say Kelsey A. Mulvey, 27, of Grand Island, used her position as a nurse to tamper with and steal vials of medication and pills, such as hydromorphone (Dilaudid), methadone, and oxycodone, all Schedule II controlled substances, and lorazepam, a Schedule IV controlled substance. Mulvey took the vials of medication from the Pyxis machine, an automated medication dispensing system. As a nurse, Mulvey had access to the Pyxis system.
Kennedy says Mulvey was placed on administrative leave on June 28, 2018, after a large number of transactions associated with her in the Pyxis system were identified as "cancelled removed," indicating that the Pyxis machine drawer for the selected medication was accessed but the transactions were cancelled. Kennedy adds Roswell Park inferred that Mulvey had removed and replaced controlled substances with water from the Pyxis machines. Many of these transactions took place on floors and/or wings where the defendant was not assigned and did not have patients. Mulvey accessed the Pyxis machines during her scheduled shifts, on days she was not scheduled to work, and on three dates of scheduled vacation. Between February and June 2018, she is accused of failing to properly administer medication for 81 patients.
"This is not the first time we have investigated and charged a healthcare professional who suffers from addiction," said FBI Buffalo Special-Agent-in-Charge Gary Loeffert. "Accessibility to these highly sought-after drugs makes it easier for medical professionals to feed their addiction. Ms. Mulvey's actions not only put her own health at risk, but also the wellbeing of dozens of patients."
Mulvey resigned in July in lieu of being fired.
Roswell Park issued the following statement:
In 2018, we suspected that a healthcare worker was removing controlled substances from Roswell Park. Having zero tolerance for this behavior, Roswell Park immediately informed the New York State Department of Health, the NYS Department of Education and the Bureau of Narcotics and Tobacco Enforcement, U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and NYPORT.
At the time of this investigation, all patients who could have received contaminated medication were notified and appropriate medical follow-up was completed. We have also learned through the investigation that our nurses advocated for those patients for whom their pain did not seem to be sufficiently relieved and took appropriate action to relieve their pain.Since that time, we have taken significant organizational steps to enhance ongoing prevention, detection and response to health care worker drug diversion.
These include heightened surveillance with high-tech software, on-campus security features, review and revision of current policy and procedures, and increased staff training and education on what they can do to keep their patients and themselves safe as it relates to drug diversion. We have also enhanced dedicated resources for the diversion prevention program.
According to the Journal of Clinical Nursing, approximately 20% of nurses struggle with an addiction to drug or alcohol, and one in 10 physicians will fall into drug or alcohol abuse at some point in their lives, mirroring the general population.
