A former intensive care unit nurse in Oregon has been arrested and charged with 44 counts of assault after allegedly mistaking fentanyl for water, according to NBC News.
Dani Mari Schofield was arrested and charged with 44 counts of second-degree assault after allegedly mistaking a patient’s painkillers for tap water. according to According to NBC News, the Medford Police Department announced charges Thursday based on the number of patients at Assanti Rogue Regional Medical Center who were harmed by Schofield’s actions.
According to the outlet, the allegations first emerged about seven months ago when the 378-bed hospital reported an unusual increase in central venous catheter infections in patients. The infections raised concerns that Schofield may have been diverting liquid fentanyl for his own use, substituting it for tap water, which led to serious infections.
Former ICU nurse arrested for allegedly spiking tap water with fentanyl https://t.co/zMye6nJWTb via @nbcnews
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Police have not disclosed how many of the affected patients have died, but one such case was highlighted in a lawsuit filed in March by the estate of Horace Wilson, NBC News reported: Wilson, who died after being hospitalized with a lacerated spleen and broken ribs, was allegedly given unsterilized tap water instead of painkillers, which led to a fatal bloodstream infection.
The lawsuit against both Assanti and Scofield accuses them of negligence. According to the outlet, neither defendant has yet responded publicly to the allegations. The case concerns drug diversion, where prescription drugs are often misappropriated and abused or sold illegally. (RELATED: Nurse Under Investigation After Substituting Tap Water for Patient’s Fentanyl IV, Lawsuit Says)
The entrance to the intensive care unit at North Oaks Hospital in Hammond, Louisiana, on August 13, 2021. Patients clinging to life lie in beds in an intensive care unit in Hammond, Louisiana, their faces consumed by the strain of ventilators and the ravages of COVID-19. (Photo by Emily Cusk/AFP via Getty Images)
As reported by NBC News, the Oregon Board of Nursing said Schofield, who left Asante in July 2023, agreed to have her nursing license suspended in November 2023, pending the outcome of the investigation. Following Schofield’s arrest, Asante President and CEO Tom Gessel thanked police for conducting a thorough investigation.
“We are extremely grateful for the countless hours that investigators have spent on this complex matter,” Gessel wrote in an internal memo, according to NBC News.
