DUBOIS – A Grassflat woman has been charged with taking drugs intended for a patient at a local hospital.
Shauna Lynn Burnett, 34, 1178 Cooper Rd., Grassflat, was charged with acquiring or obtaining possession of a controlled substance by misrepresentation, intentional possession of a controlled substance by person not registered and furnishing false/fraudulent material information by the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office on Oct. 30.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, Burnett is a registered nurse who worked for Fresenius Medical Care and was periodically assigned to the dialysis unit of Penn Highlands DuBois. In January the report of an automated narcotic dispensing instrument known as AcuDose showed that Burnett was using the system to obtain hydromorphone, morphine, lorazepam and oxycodone.
The nurses in her unit are supposed to obtain any pain medications for patients from a nurse in the Progressive Care Unit who would use their access to the system to retrieve the medication.
Burnett was counseled and instructed to follow the established procedure.
In February the director of the Progressive Care Unit became aware Burnett had obtained controlled substances from AcuDose units outside the dialysis unit.
Burnett’s supervisor at Fresenius Medical Care was contacted and asked to remove Burnett from the hospital. She was drug tested prior to leaving the hospital but the results were negative.
Burnett told a supervisor she “had a problem” and admitted she takes pain medications intended for other people.
In August a registered nurse who was also a dialysis patient in February was interviewed by investigators. He explained if he was in pain during or after his treatment he would take Tylenol. After his treatment on Feb. 18, he requested Tylenol from the nurse in anticipation of a headache. She refused his request because his medical record authored by Burnett indicated he had pain assessed at level “6” and had already been given hydromorphone by Burnett. He stated he did not receive the drug that day and he had not been asked by anyone to evaluate his level of pain.
Records from the AcuDose indicate on that date at 10:33 a.m. Burnett removed hydromorphone for the victim.
Burnett’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for Dec. 18 before District Judge Patrick Ford at his office at 9:30 a.m.