An Iowa nurse with a history of drug dependency was employed at a rehab center days after being fired from a retirement home where client medications had actually gone missing out on, state records reveal.
Kathlene Roush of Des Moines continued to find work as a nurse even after the Iowa Board of Nursing charged her with the misappropriation of client medications.
According to the board, Roush’s issues started in August 2013 when the Iowa Department of Human Solutions examined an occurrence in which she apparently overdosed on prescription medication and was discovered unresponsive in her house with her kids present. DHS eventually put Roush’s name on its main abuse computer system registry, and she was identified with opioid reliance.
From August 2020 up until October 2020, Roush was utilized as a certified useful nurse at the Mitchell Town Care Center in Mitchellville. Soon after Roush started working there, a client was moved to the house with 18 oxycodone tablets.
The board declares Roush signed out 4 dosages of the client’s oxycodone without recording that the client got them. A couple of weeks later on, the personnel at the house found that a bottle of liquid morphine recommended to a client appeared to have actually been filled up with another compound of a various color. An evaluation of medication records exposed Roush had actually administered the last 4 does offered to the client which she had actually bought a brand-new bottle from the drug store although the existing supply was anticipated to last numerous more days.
The retirement home then found that Roush had actually bought 4 oxycodone tablets for a client without a medical professional’s permission, and there was no record of the client having actually gotten them. In addition, the board declares, Roush had actually taken a look at another citizen’s discomfort medication without recording the administration of the drugs and had actually bought unwanted morphine sulfate for yet another citizen of the house.
After the retirement home suspended Roush for 3 days, she stopped working to appear for her next shift and was fired, according to the board.
Within days, Roush was working once again as a nurse, this time for the Rehab Center of Des Moines. On the early morning of November 28, 2020, Roush was finishing her shift at the center when a colleague apparently discovered Roush’s individual bag on a chair inside the center’s medication space. The colleague observed 3 bubble-pack medication cards, consisting of oxycodone, in the bag together with the center’s “medication count” files revealing the drugs were recommended to customers. The center fired Roush 10 days later on, the board declares.
Eleven months later on, the Board of Nursing charged Roush with misusing client medications, residential or commercial property or materials; stopping working to appropriately protect or protect medications; and stopping working to evaluate, assess and precisely record the status of a client. This matter came prior to the board for a hearing on January 20 of this year, at which Roush sent letters of assistance from previous and existing colleagues confirming to her reliability and proficiency as a nurse.
At that time, Roush had actually just recently finished a drug abuse examination and had apparently acknowledged her previous drug abuse while showing opiates were her main drug of option. According to the board, she likewise confessed having actually utilized methamphetamine in 2020, however rejected any existing substance abuse.
In April, with Roush still utilized as a nurse– state records state she was working for an entity called “Genesis Health in Des Moines”– the board voted to suspend her license for an indefinite duration. She can look for reinstatement after one year of sobriety and after sending to a thorough psychological health and drug abuse examination.
In other matters, the Iowa Board of Nursing just recently did something about it versus numerous other Iowa- accredited nurses, consisting of:
Anna Egbe of Ottumwa: In April, Egbe concurred to surrender her license. Egbe was dealing with charges of having actually falsified her license application or qualifications, and of misrepresenting her scholastic degrees or qualifications. According to the state, Egbe sent an application for licensure as a certified useful nurse in January 2018 and was released a license by the Board of Nursing after she supplied falsified nursing education qualifications. In June 2019, Egbe apparently sent an application for licensure as a signed up nurse and was approved that license by the board in February 2020 after she supplied falsified academic qualifications.
Kelli Schultz of Sherrill: Schultz just recently concurred to a settlement in which the board bought her to stop dealing with clients for long-lasting persistent discomfort, a minimum of up until she finishes 5 hours of assessment with a sophisticated signed up nurse professional. Schultz apparently operated at a center– the board has actually not recognized business– from March 2015 through February of 2020, and after that started operating at another center through an agreement with a staffing firm. When she transitioned from one center to the next, numerous clients moved their care from the very first center to the 2nd in order to stay a client of Schultz, the board declares. An evaluation of clients charts at both centers apparently reveal that Schultz had actually been recommending discomfort medications to “several clients” without sticking to the obligatory requirements of practice. The board declares Schultz kept one client on a high dose of opioids for several years, with couple of efforts at weaning the client off the drugs.
Donell Dittmer of Waverly: The board just recently concurred to restore Dittmer’s nursing license, which she gave up in 2019 after the board declared that while operating at an undefined healthcare facility in December 2018 Dittmer had a blood alcohol level of.235 percent– nearly 3 times the legal limitation for driving a vehicle. Dittmer was permitted to return to work in January 2019 after concurring to avoid alcohol usage and look for treatment. A couple of weeks later on, she was discovered to have a blood alcohol level of.10 percent while on responsibility at the healthcare facility.