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A local nurse was arrested after authorities say she stole painkillers for her own use that had been prescribed to patients.
Late last year, pharmacy staff at Bon Secours St. Francis Downtown Hospital in Greenville noticed that the number of painkillers pulled from storage by one nurse was abnormally higher than other nurses — sometimes nearly three times the average, according to a S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control incident report.
The nurse, Erica Irene Hudson, was dispensing far more morphine, Dilaudid (hydromorphone, an opioid) and oxycodone than other nurses from September to December 2023, the incident report says. In one instance, when Hudson worked four days, she dispensed 14 doses of Dilaudid, while her peer who worked two days dispensed four doses.
Hudson was arrested March 21 on five counts each of violating drug distribution laws and stealing a controlled substance, according to DHEC arrest warrants. She was released on a $50,000 bond later that day, court records show.
It is unclear whether Hudson is still employed by St. Francis.
“Bon Secours’ highest priority is ensuring the safety of our patients, visitors and staff,” hospital spokeswoman Jennifer Robinson told The Post and Courier. “As a faith-based organization, we hold our employees to the highest ethical standards.”
Robinson declined to comment further.
Hudson’s state nursing license, issued after her graduation from nursing school in May 2023, was still listed as active and in good standing with the state Board of Nursing as of March 26.
Investigators compared the vitals of patients before and after Hudson documented she had given them painkillers.
Typically, when a patient is given an opioid, the higher heart rates and blood pressure from the pain goes down. Investigators found that when patients’ vitals were documented, the numbers did not match.
A week after the trends were discovered, Hudson took a drug test that revealed positive traces of oxycodone and oxymorphone in her system, according to the incident report. Records showed that Hudson would frequently pull hydromorphone just before leaving work and occasionally after clocking out.
In a December interview with an DHEC investigator, Hudson admitted her practices were not “good” but said she was not taking the medication.
“I’m doing things that make it look like I’m stealing it to be more efficient for myself,” the investigator wrote Hudson said. “I have taken medication that I am not prescribed, but I have not taken it from this hospital.”
Hudson admitted to the investigator that she exchanged a drug she had with another drug someone she knew had, according to the incident report. She later admitted to diverting Dilaudid from her patients, the investigator wrote.
Hudson could not be immediately reached for comment. She did not have an attorney listed in court records.
DHEC states on its website it gets up to 1,000 complaints each year about controlled substances being stolen from legal outlets. About 25 percent of those prosecuted are health care professionals, the agency reports.