Pts doing illegal stuff while in hospital

[Emergent, RN]

So, a woman in Pennsylvania is accused of selling heroin from her ICU bed. Seems she had quite the stream of visitors that aroused suspicion.

http://www.aol.com/article/2014/04/23/woman-allegedly-sold-heroin-from-hospital-bed/20873825/?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000058

I know when I worked inpatient care, we had quite a few that we suspected were supplementing their IV pain drugs with street drugs. We had one regular whose gf would come in and he'd be in a much better mood afterward.

Any interesting stories to share?

[Ruas61, BSN, RN]

Oh, yes!

We have the ETOH and ciggy gofers. They will scurry to the local establishment for what you want for a small gratuity!

The local park is the local pharmacy. Don't like the prescribed medications and/or want to augment your regimen? Wheel, waddle or hobble on over!

I can't get too more explicit otherwise you might figure it out.

Inner city living!

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

Women accused was in ICU....Bet admit was for sepsis...

[Emergent, RN]

Women accused was in ICU....Bet admit was for sepsis...

I was suspecting that too!

[meanmaryjean, DNP, RN]

One of the commenters in the article I read had the audacity to ask ,"Where were the nurses when all of this was going on?"

As if!

(I once was admitting an elderly lady who brought all her pill bottles with her in a little vinyl tote bag/ make up case. She told me to go through it to make her med list. In the bottom was a fat, hand-rolled doobie.)

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

Time article has more details: Police: Woman Sold Heroin From Hospital Bed

A confidential informant purchased 30 bags of heroin from her, police said, and a total of $3,800 worth of heroin and $1,420 in cash was allegedly seized from her room. Sullenberger was being treated for an “unrelated medical issue,” according to police.

Police said that Sullenberger had multiple cellphones in her room that would ring at all hours, and visitors to her room also didn’t know her last name.

[xoemmylouox, ASN, RN]

I have to say I don't believe I've run across a patient dealing drugs from their rooms, but I've been around a few that I'm pretty sure they've had their dealer come in and visit them (one being yesterday even). Of course they deny it, and I haven't found said drugs, but there have been some suspicious "visits".

[0.adamantite]

We've had patients both dealing drugs out of their rooms, and doing them in their bathrooms through their central lines. Neither was reported to police as far as I know.

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

One night while I was supervisor at a small rural hospital I was in the nurses station doing orders on the several new admits and playing unit clerk...I thought I kept smelling pot. It was winter and there are times we could smell the wood burning stoves/fireplaces from the few houses near-by...it was VERY RURAL (great ventilation system right? LOL). So I ignored it.

But I kept smelling it. So I finally decided to turn around and asked if anyone else smelled marijuana. One nurse had no idea what pot smelled like (you'd have to know her to know she was telling the truth) and the others agreed they smelled pot.

As we searched the hallways we came across this room where the smell was profound. I opened the door and the smoke came pouring out of the room like the scene in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" and the patient was sitting there smoking. I asked her what she was doing and she had the gall to say "nothing

".

I demanded her to put out the joint and had over her stash AND lighter. I confiscated her "stuff" and removed her belongings out of the room for "safety concerns" of fire. She was sedated (real sedated now) and cooperative and willingly gave permission. Come morning the facility did call the PD as she had enough pot to last her a year in her belongings. She was charged, arrested then arraigned in her room.

You know what my boss wanted to know and woke me up to ask? Where's her lighter....the patient is upset she doesn't have her Bic lighter.... I asked my boss..."You woke me up to ask about a 99 cent lighter? I have NO IDEA where it went...it was in the bag of grass with the rolled joints....so it's probably in police custody....tell her I'll buy her a new one on my way in"

[ChristineN, BSN, RN]

I have had a few cases of pts doing illegal activity from their hospital room. The most memorable one was when I was taking care of a pt that was on the transplant list that was found to be hiding heroin in his room and using while in the hospital. Got kicked off of the transplant list.

[loriangel14, RN]

I walked in on a patient rolling a joint on his table. We confiscated the weed but I know what he was doing every time he went off hospital property to have a smoke.

[ArtClassRN, ADN, RN]

At least she had a job...