State v. Ms. G (DMC No. 15959) – Diverting a Controlled Substance (OxyContin) For Personal Use – No Nursing License Suspension (and Instead Only a “Letter of Concern” Issued) – Arizona State Board of Nursing (Case No. XXA-1XXXXXX7-NUR)

Ms. G was a nurse who worked in a hospice facility who was accused of falsifying requests for controlled substance prescriptions (OxyContin) and diverting the medications for her personal use. She was also accessing patient’s files who were not her responsibility, was not documenting their files, and was using the information to gain prescriptions. Ultimately, she was fired from the hospice company. Shortly thereafter, she showed up to a patient’s house with a surgical mask on in order to do a “medication count”, and counted (and kept) some of that patient’s medications. All of this was reported to the Arizona State Board of Nursing, and they moved to Suspend her Nursing License. That’s when she secured the services of DM Cantor.

We were able to enroll Ms. G into Substance Abuse Counseling and Treatment, and we also provided Mitigation Information to the Board. At the Hearing, the Arizona State Nursing Board agreed Not to Suspend Ms. G’s License, and instead issued a “Letter of Concern”. It also required her to maintain Classes and Drug Testing. Ms. G became sober, and is a successful practicing nurse today.