Kansas Nursing Home Nurse Sentenced to Prison for Medicaid Fraud and Misappropriation of Drugs
Failure to prevent the misappropriation of drugs intended for residents may result in charges of fraud and the submission of false claims
Compliance Perspective – Misappropriation of Drugs
Policies/Procedures: The Compliance and Ethics Officer with the Director of Nursing will review the policies and procedures regarding the storage, reconciliation process, and access to controlled substances.
Training: The Compliance and Ethics Officer with the Director of Nursing will ensure that staff administering medications to residents are trained to respond in a timely manner to concerns about drug misappropriation, and that staff are trained to strictly follow the policies and procedures regarding controlled substances.
Audit: The Compliance and Ethics Officer with the Director of Nursing should personally conduct an audit that observes the shift-to-shift protocols for reconciling controlled substances, and interview residents who have physician orders for controlled medications for pain and are able to communicate regarding any unresolved pain issues.
Erin Grae Whitlow, who had been employed as a nurse in a Kansas nursing home, was recently sentenced to 21 months in prison after pleading guilty to one count of Medicaid fraud, one count of felony possession of a controlled substance, and two counts of felony mistreatment of a dependent adult.
The charges resulted from an investigation by the attorney general’s Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Division and the local police department. The investigation found that Whitlow stole morphine from vials intended for residents while she was employed as a nurse in the nursing home between July and August 2017.
This was the first conviction stemming from a statewide sweep announced in September by the attorney general’s office as part of their crackdown on illegal and harmful activity in Kansas facilities receiving Medicaid funding. Charges against nine additional defendants remain pending.
