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An Owensboro woman charged this week with stealing anesthetics and other drugs from Ohio County Healthcare had her nursing license suspended by the state Board of Nursing two months before she faced the criminal charge.
L. D. Means, 43, was charged Wednesday with theft by unlawful taking under $10,000 by the Kentucky State Police, for allegedly taking Propofol and other narcotics from Ohio County Healthcare, where she worked as a registered nurse. Propofol is a drug used to render people unconscious for surgery.
In February, Means’ R.N. license was temporarily suspended by the state after Owensboro Health Regional Hospital lodged a complaint against Means that also involved hospital medication.
An official from Ohio County Hospital said Thursday the hospital was not aware of any disciplinary action against Means when she was hired there in October.
The Owensboro Health complaint was received by the board of nursing in September. Brian Hamby, director of marketing and public relations at Owensboro Health, said he could not comment on Means’ time there, because the hospital does not comment on personnel matters.
The Owensboro Health complaint says hospital management became aware in August that Means “had pulled numerous controlled substance from the Omnicell medication system during five different shifts, with no record of administering the controlled substances to patients, no record of wasting the medication and no record of returning” the drugs to the medication system.
The nursing board reviewed Means’ record and found she’d been convicted in 2001 of misdemeanor theft by deception under $300. Means did not respond to the board’s complaints, and the board determined in November there was “reasonable cause to believe (Means) was unable to practice nursing with reasonable skill and safety.”
The board indefinitely suspended Means’ nursing license on Feb. 1. The order was temporary, but Means had not been reinstated at the time of her arrest on the new charge.
CeCe Robinson, director of community relations at Ohio County Healthcare, said Thursday Means is no longer employed at the hospital.
“From the time the investigation started on Monday, Ms. Means did not work at our (facility) and did not care for patients at our facility,” Robinson said.
Means had no restrictions on her nursing license at the time she was hired, Robinson said.
“When we hired her, there was no indication of disciplinary action in her file,” Robinson said. When asked how the investigation that led to the current charges began, Robinson said the hospital has a procedure for tracking drug dispensing and said officials discovered a discrepancy.
The hospital reviews professional licenses in the fall of each year, Robinson said. If a licensed staff member is disciplined or has an issue with their license, they are required to self-report the issue, Robinson said.
Pam Hagan, acting executive director of the state board of nursing, said it’s common for hospitals to do annual reviews of physician and nursing licenses and said those typically occur in the fall.
“On this particular nurse, her license didn’t expire. She was suspended” by the board, Hagan said.