HERMANTOWN — The Minnesota Department of Health concluded April 16 that an employee of The Pillars of Hermantown financially exploited two residents by taking their narcotic medications for personal use.
A state investigation revealed a “preponderance of evidence” to support claims that the accused staff member took a resident’s oxycodone and another resident’s hydromorphone. Both are opioid pain medications.
The employee, who is not named in the
is no longer employed by the facility.
The affected residents had dementia and other conditions and were not able to participate in an interview with the investigator.
A review of a narcotic medication book indicated the staff member removed one tablet of a resident’s oxycodone from the medication card. However, the resident’s electronic record indicated that the staff member did not administer it at the specified time. Investigators corroborated the incident using facility camera footage.
A family member later told the investigator that it would be odd for the resident to request the medication “so late at night” when they were typically sleeping, according to the report.
After the initial incident, the facility underwent an audit and expanded its investigation to review all residents’ narcotic administration by the staff member, leading to the discovery that another resident’s hydromorphone had been diverted.
There were several instances noted in the state’s report where the medication was signed out but not administered. The staff member in question was the only person to sign out the hydromorphone, according to the report.
A family member told investigators the resident denied having any pain when asked.
The accused staff member did not follow procedure to notify the on-call nurse for permission to administer the drugs to either resident, and failed to document it correctly, the report stated.
A meeting with the staff member was scheduled, but they did not attend, nor did they reply to facility leadership. The employee also did not respond to a subpoena, and will have the right to appeal the state’s finding.
The Pillars of Hermantown responded by providing employees with education on medication diversion, according to the report. Two staff members are now required to complete narcotic medication administration.
A Pillars of Hermantown representative was not immediately available for comment.
Brielle Bredsten is a business and health care industry reporter for the Duluth News Tribune.
Send her story tips, feedback or just say hi at bbredsten@duluthnews.com.