A former nurse in Illinois was sentenced Friday to six years in federal prison after she personally used morphine intended for patients, potentially causing some patients to suffer pain due to insufficient dosage, according to the Justice Department.
Kandis Mills, 47, was a registered nurse at Illini Heritage Rehab and Health Care in Champaign at the time of the crimes, according to the statement.
SENTENCED: A former nurse at Illini Heritage Rehab and Health Care in Champaign was sentenced to 6 years for tampering with hospice patients’ morphine.https://t.co/Hrv3B8dw1R
— FOX Illinois (@foxillinois) March 22, 2021
In July 2018, a standard internal audit revealed an emergency medication control box didn’t contain a bottle of morphine, and several tablets of opioid medication were missing.(RELATED: German Nurse Accused Of Giving Morphine To Babies Freed From Jail After Prosecutor Admits Test Mix-Up)
Days later, a nurse reported that a patient’s morphine bottle was missing a dropper and the bottle had been opened. The color of the medication was also lighter than normal, and the bottle appeared to have more liquid inside it than it should have.
Two nurses told a supervisor Mills appeared lethargic, and was slurring her words and staring into space, according to the statement. Slurred speech, nodding off and inattention are short-term physical effects of morphine use, according to American Addiction Centers.
In August 2018, staff at the health care center discovered another compromised emergency medication box that included a bottle of morphine that was tampered with, the statement said. The day after the discovery, Mills was fired from the facility.
Mills told investigators she had consumed morphine intended for patients. Initially, the morphine use was infrequent, but then it became daily, she told investigators.
Mills admitted she used the morphine, and then diluted the morphine bottle with tap water. The patients who Mills said she stole the morphine from had suffered pain that the medication may have mitigated near the end of their lives, the statement said.
“This case shows both the devastating harm caused by opioid addiction to include almost unforgivable collateral damage inflicted on our most vulnerable citizens and also the importance of strictly following narcotic medicine storage and audit rules,” Acting U.S. Attorney Douglas J. Quivey said, according to the statement.
“Unfortunately, medical providers are at heightened risk of addiction and protocols must be strictly followed.”
Mills was convicted of two counts of tampering with consumer products, and pleaded guilty to the charges. She was ordered to report to the federal Bureau of Prisons on May 25 to begin her prison term.