A former nurse, Caroline Sheehan, of Lowell, Massachusetts was handed a sentence of three years probation in a Boston federal court for manipulating a prescription drug, specifically fentanyl, at a local hospital, according to the Justice Department.
In February 2024, Sheehan admitted to her crime with intent to defraud and mislead. During her time at an unnamed Massachusetts hospital, she illegally withdrew fentanyl from an intravenous bag, replacing the powerful opioid with saline. This incident occurred in March 2021, and it wasn't until a hospital employee noticed a bloodstain and reported the tampered IV bag that patient administration of the compromised solution was avoided. Laboratory tests later confirmed the bag contained diluted fentanyl.
Reports from the Justice Department highlight that Sheehan is prohibited from any future engagement in jobs that involve a registered nurse license or grant her access to prescription narcotics. Her substance addiction led her to persistently steal hospital drugs, quietly substituting them with saline.
Several agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration's Office of Criminal Investigations, the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the Inspector General, and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, worked together in the indictment, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly Begg Lawrence, Chief of the Health true fraud unit, leading one prosecution effort.
