This post was originally published on this site
An Iowa nurse accused of stealing patient painkillers on three separate occasions has agreed to surrender her license.
Last October, police and paramedics were called to the Coon Rapids home of R. Landon, an Iowa-licensed nurse, in response to a call about a suspected drug overdose. According to state records, they found Landon at the house in an unresponsive state.
Police records indicate that at the time, Landon, 66, was working at the New Homestead care facility in Guthrie Center. An investigation allegedly determined that the day before the incident at her house, Landon was working at New Homestead and had signed out a fentanyl patch — a narcotic painkiller to be applied to an elderly female resident’s skin.
When the resident was examined, however, an older patch was found on her skin. Landon had allegedly flipped that patch over so the non-medicated side was facing outward, and then signed and dated it as if it were the new patch she had procured. Landon allegedly admitted to police she had taken the resident’s painkiller patch for her own use.
After being charged by the Board of Nursing with stealing patient medications, falsifying records and committing an act that could adversely affect a patient’s welfare, Landon recently agreed to surrender her license.
Police have charged Landon with wanton neglect of a dependent adult, theft and possession of a controlled substance. A plea hearing in the case is scheduled for June 5.
Landon has a history of disciplinary action and criminal charges related to the practice of nursing.
In 1991, Landon misappropriated the narcotic painkiller Demerol from a health care facility in Missouri and was subsequently convicted of a felony. The Iowa Board of Nursing later issued Landon a warning for the offense.
In 1998, the board charged Landon with committing unethical conduct by stealing medications from a nursing home where she worked, Manor of Malvern. She had allegedly locked herself in a restroom while on duty at the facility, injected herself with Demerol, and was later found staggering and on the verge of passing out. According to board records, she then left the facility and drove her vehicle into a ditch. A police officer allegedly found several needles or syringes on the car seat next to Landon.
An investigation concluded Landon had taken the Demerol, intended for a resident in severe pain, and then replaced the missing drug with a diluted solution to conceal the theft. The Board of Nursing subsequently revoked her license.
In 2002, the board agreed to reinstate Landon’s license subject to certain restrictions. One year later, Landon surrendered her license as an alternative to complying with those restrictions. In 2011, the board agreed to reinstate her license.