A nurse ordered 8,160 pain med tablets for patients, state says, but gave them only 1
A Broward County registered nurse has had her license restricted by the Florida Department of Health after, the department says, she ordered 8,160 oxycodone tablets and almost 10 liters of prescription cough syrup with codeine earlier this year.
Problem was, Nadia Etienne’s four patients received only one oxy tablet and no cough syrup.
That’s according to the emergency restriction order (ERO) the Florida Department of Health slapped on Etienne’s license on Wednesday. At the time of Etienne’s alleged violations,she worked as a home health nurse for Vitas Healthcare in Fort Lauderdale.
“We can confirm that Nadia Etienne is no longer employed by us,” Vitas Healthcare said in an email to the Miami Herald. “We have zero tolerance for any individuals who engage in unethical and illegal practices.”
In that job, she tended to patients in their home, including re-ordering prescriptions. The ERO identifies four of her patients as A.O., A.D., H.S., and M.E.. According to the ERO:
For A.O., from January to June of this year, Etienne ordered 3,600 tablets of pain medication oxycodone and 3.784 liters of promethazine syrup with codeine. A.O. received none of the tablets or cough syrup.
For A.D., from January to June, Etienne ordered 2.838 liters of cough syrup. A.D. received not a spoonful.
For H.S., from February to July, Etienne ordered 960 tablets of oxy. H.S. received not a one.
For M.E., from January to July, Etienne ordered 3,600 oxy tablets and 3.354 liters of cough syrup. M.E. was given one oxy tablet. No cough syrup.
“On one or more occasions, Ms. Etienne took excess patient drugs with her when she left the patient home, stating that she was returning the drugs to the pharmacy,” the ERO states. “Ms. Etienne did not return any drugs to the dispensing pharmacy for patients H.S., A.O., M.E. or A.D.”
Her license is restricted “from practicing in an environment where she has access to controlled substances.”
This story was originally published September 30, 2019 at 8:23 AM.
