This post was originally published on this site
Jennifer L. Sutliff, 36, of 17778 Bertschy Road, was sentenced last week by President Judge Anthony Vardaro of Crawford County Court of Common Pleas to a total of eight to 24 months less one day in county jail along with two years of probation with the sentences to run at the same time. Vardaro also ordered Sutliff to pay $350 in fines plus court costs.
Sutliff pleaded guilty in county court in September to obtaining a controlled substance by misrepresentation, fraud or forgery and theft by unlawful taking for taking prescription pain medication from patients at Rolling Fields Inc., a nursing home outside of Conneautville.
Sutliff, who worked as a licensed practical nurse at Rolling Fields, was charged in March by the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General.
Sutliff admitted to taking patients’ prescription pain medication at various times during 2016. She fraudulently documented the medication use for patients and then used the medication for herself, according to court documents.
The nursing home began its own investigation in December 2016 after the home’s medical director noticed “a significant increase in the narcotic prescriptions in the month of November 2016,” according to the arrest affidavit filed in the case.
In subsequent interviews of nursing staff, Sutliff admitted to nursing administrators in early December 2016 that she had taken prescription pain pills and kept them for herself, the affidavit said.
In February of this year, a review of records found additional pain medication discrepancies at Rolling Fields involving a total of 16 patients and more than 600 pills unaccounted for, the affidavit said. The missing medication had been signed out by Sutliff and “were not located or documented as administered to her patients,” according to the affidavit.
“Sutliff stated she didn’t use them while at work; she saved them, took them home and used them,” the affidavit said.
Sutliff told investigators she “went from taking one pill a night, to eight or nine a day,” the affidavit said.