A former nurse is set to face the music after pleading guilty to fiddling with prescription fentanyl at a Boston hospital, court documents reveal. Caroline Sheehan, 39, from Lowell, Mass., has admitted to one count of altering a prescription drug with the intent to defraud or mislead, in federal court, according to an announcement on the Department of Justice website.
Sheehan’s scheme at the Massachusetts hospital involved swiping a bag of intravenous fentanyl from an automated dispenser, withdrawing the drug with a syringe, then pumping saline back into the bag, returning it, compromised, bit not any patients were affected because a hospital employee discovered the tampered bag before administering the diluted solution to any patients, testing later confirmed the reduced concentration of fentanyl. The sentencing for this breach of trust is set for June 12, a clock ticking down to what might be three years behind bars, a year of supervised release and a financial hit of up to $10,000 in fines.
This plea comes after Sheehan was charged last November in a case put together by several federal and state agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly Begg Lawrence, who leads the Health Care Fraud Unit is heading the prosecution, bringing a close to a tale of betrayal within the healthcare system.
It has yet to be seen how Sheehan's actions will impact her future in nursing or how deep the ripples of her misconduct will spread throughout the medical community, but the consequences levied will serve as a reminder, healthcare professionals entrusted with the care of the vulnerable, they bear a responsibility sacred in its weight, and when that trust is broken, the justice system stands ready to act, says Federal officials.
