Narcotics Stolen From Florida Nursing Home
A shipment of Oxycodone was stolen from Ridgecrest Nursing and Rehabilitation on Sunday, April 4, 2010.
A shipment of thirty tablets of Oxycodone was delivered to the facility on Sunday around 9:00 a.m. An LPN signed for the delivery but became distracted by a situation that needed immediate attention. The LPN, Amanda Whalen, put the medication on a lower shelf in the nursing station until she could properly store them - leaving the painkiller unsecured in an area where housekeeping, nurses, residents, and guests all had access to the drugs.
She forgot about the shipment and when she returned several hours later to properly store them, the tablets were gone. The missing drugs were reported to the police by the nursing supervisor.
According to the Agency for Health Care Administration, it is unclear whether missing drugs would be something they would investigate. According to the News-Journal, the nursing home's inspection reports reveals that the facility was cited twice in 2009 for drug administration as being an issue requiring attention.
The facility is currently under investigation for a February 19, 2010 incident where a seventy-six year old resident died six days after she suffered two broken legs and a broken shoulder in a fall. Those injuries were left untreated for nearly 12 hours. To read more about this incident, see our blog.
