This post was originally published on this site
NTA Ambulance District of Bethany, Missouri issued a statement a day after the former paramedic, 31-year-old Joseph L. Comstock, pleaded guilty to federal charges of tampering with drugs meant for patients.
The ambulance district issued a statement that it was “proud of the fact” that its inventory control and drug security procedures helped catch the problem. An ambulance board member and officials from the NTA office in Bethany either declined to comment for this story or did not return calls seeking additional information.
“The district is committed to effective security measures and accurate inventory controls of all the district’s controlled substances,” the district said in its statement.
A copy of the plea agreement in U.S. District Court shows that Comstock confessed that he started tampering with drugs in March of 2014, following a medical procedure to remove his tonsils.
The NTA ambulance chief told federal investigators he first learned of a problem with the morphine supply on Jan. 30, 2015. Special agents with the Food and Drug Administration were notified of a possible drug tampering situation about five weeks later, on March 4, 2015.
There were other signs that something was amiss. Federal court documents show that Comstock was nearly two hours late for a training session at NTA’s ambulance building on Feb. 21, 2015.
“The captain stated Comstock was still in his bunk sleeping,” according to the plea agreement filed in federal court. “For 10 minutes, they knocked on his door with no answer. Eventually, Comstock responded but appeared very groggy and could not recall how long he was asleep.”
The chief ordered a urine analysis, but it did not appear to test for fentanyl or morphine, according to the plea agreement. Those were the two drugs at the center of the investigation.
Bethany NTA employees told federal investigators that they had heard Comstock was suspected of drug tampering in Gallatin, Missouri, according to the plea agreement. He formerly worked for the Community Ambulance District of Daviess County.
Ultimately, Comstock pleaded guilty to three counts of tampering with fentanyl and morphine with what federal charges described as “reckless disregard for the risk that another person would be placed in danger of death or bodily injury.”
There was no indication in court documents that Comstock’s actions caused long-term harm to patients. Comstock admitted that on two occasions he personally treated hip fracture patients who were supposed to receive pain relief but instead received vials of water.
He told federal authorities he tampered with drugs on three different dates in 2015 but that he had “tampered with drugs on all the ambulances” prior to March 23 of that year.
Comstock stopped working for the Gallatin ambulance company in June 2014 but stopped by the office on two occasions in February of 2015. After both instances, employees noticed signs of tampering to vials of fentanyl.
Shortly after that, federal agents installed surveillance equipment at the Bethany ambulance building and placed a camera on an ambulance that was taken out of service. The very next day, Comstock was viewed entering the ambulance to access the narcotics cabinet.
Because of its cooperation with authorities, NTA ambulance officials don’t believe the district’s state and federal licensing will be in jeopardy.
Officials in Bethany, in a statement, said the case illustrates scale of the opioid epidemic that kills 68,000 people a year in the United States.
“Unfortunately, the EMS community is not immune to this tragic epidemic,” the ambulance district said.
Comstock also was charged in state court with two counts of stealing a controlled substance in 2015. He received probation and a suspended sentence.
He is scheduled to be sentenced in federal court on Jan. 26, 2018.