US Nurse Under Investigation for Supposedly “Replacing Tap Water with Fentanyl IV Bags”

Following a report that two people died and another became ill when a nurse substituted tap water for fentanyl intravenous infusions, US authorities revealed this week that they are investigating the theft of drugs provided to patients at a hospital in the state of Oregon.

Authorities at the Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center in Medford notified police early last month that they thought a former employee had stolen medicine, according to a statement released by Medford Police Lt. Geoff Kirkpatrick. The statement said, “Although the exact impact on those patients has not yet been determined, there was concern that this behavior resulted in adverse patient care.”

Kirkpatrick said, “We’re investigating whether or not that behavior led to adverse patient care, which could be death, could be all sorts of other forms or things,” when asked whether the medicine theft or tampering was the cause of the fatalities over the phone with AP. We’re not aware whether that led to any fatalities.

The police said that their agency was inundated with inquiries from people inquiring as to whether they or a family member could have been impacted. Asante informed law enforcement that it had located any patients who were and that it was either informing them or their relatives already. There were no signs of an arrest, and neither the police nor the hospital would offer any details. Asante released a statement that said, “We were distressed to learn of this issue.” “We are collaborating closely with law enforcement after reporting it to them.”

The Asante nurse is “alleged to have tampered with pharmaceutical fentanyl used to treat severe pain and introduced tap water in patients’ intravenous lines,” according to a statement posted by the Oregon Health Authority on Wednesday. Additionally, it said that “reports that the incidents led to health care-associated infections that severely injured, and may have caused the deaths of, several patients” were under investigation.

The families of two patients, 36-year-old Samuel Allison, who passed away in November 2022, and 74-year-old Barry Samsten, who passed away in July, were informed by hospital officials earlier this week that their deaths were caused by infections as a result of substituting non-sterile tap water for their pain medication. This information was reported by The Rogue Valley Times.