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A former Germantown nurse’s license was suspended by the Tennessee Board of Nursing last month after the board alleged she stole pain medications under the guise of giving them to patients.
A consent order approved by the Board of Nursing on August 27 details the allegations against S. Delikat, who worked at Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare in Germantown from 2016 to 2019.
In November 2018, they said she withdrew a larger dose of hydromorphone than needed, and 1.5 milligrams of the drug went unaccounted for.
From December 2018 to January 2019, they said she withdrew more hydromorphone as well as a Percocet, Benadryl and Tylenol.
On Jan. 8, she was fired from Methodist Le Bonheur.
Weeks later, a hair sample she provided to the Tennessee Professional Assistance program tested positive for morphine, even though she didn’t have a prescription for the substance.
Addiction specialists said addiction among healthcare professionals is surprisingly common.
“Approximately 20 percent of all nurses suffer severe alcohol [or] drug addiction,” Stacy Dodd with Turning Point Recovery in Southaven said. “You wouldn’t expect medical professionals to be using, but the long, exhaustive shifts that they have to work, the high stress, the conditions that they have to work in are the leading factors in their drug abuse.”
No one answered when WREG went by Delikat’s home. Methodist Le Bonheur released the following statement.
“While we cannot discuss personnel matters, we work diligently every day to provide our patients with high-quality, expert care.”