Illinois Director of Nursing Dies of Drug Overdose at Facility
An Illinois nursing home's Director of Nursing is dead following a drug overdose, according to published reports.
Forty-one year old James Scooler, the Director of Nursing for Timbercreek Rehab & Healthcare Center, died on April 1, 2011 at the facility. Scooler was found on his knees in a restroom near his office after facility employees noticed he was missing for approximately two hours. The deputy coroner pronounced him dead around 9:59 p.m. Upon examining the body, the deputy coroner found a syringe in Scooler's right sock filled with a Fentanyl patch and saline solution. The autopsy examination also revealed a Fentanyl patch wrapper in Scooler's left sock and fresh puncture wounds between Scooler's thigh and groin. Scooler reportedly died from a Fentanyl overdose after he took the medicine from a lock box used to temporarily hold prescriptions of patients whose medications have changed or who have died.
At the time of his death, Scooler was on probation with the Illinois Department of Professional Regulation for substance abuse. He had been suspended from May 25, 2007 through November 18, 2008 for "failure to abide by the terms of his care, counseling, and treatment agreement". He was restored to probationary status on November 18, 2008 for three years.
As troubling as Mr. Schooler's death is, it is equally troubling that Timbercreek Rehab & Healthcare was aware of Scooler's probationary status but reportedly did not drug test him because "it assumed the IDPR would be monitoring him". Not only did they refuse to drug test a person with known drug problems, they also put Scooler in charge of disposing the facility's narcotic medications. In my mind, this is equivalent to putting an alcoholic in charge of stocking a bar. At best, this was horrific judgment on the part of Timbercreek management and ownership. A file cabinet containing those drugs was found in Scooler's office with a padlock on it. Because the key could not be located, the lock was cut off and Pekin Police Detective Matt Damron found evidence that the medications were not being disposed of and some of the medications dated back to January 2011.
If you or a loved one has suffered abuse or neglect at the hands of an Illinois nursing home, contact David Terry at the Terry Law Firm at 314-878-9797 or 888-317-2525 to schedule your free no obligation consultation.
