Kentucky Nurses, I need your help!!

Nurses Recovery

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Hello!

I have a friend in KY who has gotten herself into quite a bit of trouble. She is very sick and I am trying to help. Long story short, the papers from the board were discovered after searching through her things while she was in the hospital being treated for altered mental status. I have more questions than answers right now.

A complaint was filed back in July 2016. Drug diversion, putting in verbal orders for narcs that were never given, etc. Somehow, MONTHS LATER her license is still under investigation. She has since had another job and was terminated. We think for the same thing, but slowly the pieces are being put together and we are just rolling with it while we continue to let her know SHE IS LOVED AND NOT ALONE.

Do you know the answers to my questions:

When a nurse in KY has a complaint filed and is believed to have been stealing drugs, does the facility report them to the police? Or does the board do their thing first, then report them to police? Or perhaps the police never get involved? I mean, it's theft.

Is there a way to find out if anyone pressed charges?

Does it really take this long for the KY board to take action??

Complaint was filed in July, it's February!

*When I got caught, my license was suspended within 2 or 3 weeks and turned in.

I am baffled. I am terrified. So far, it doesn't seem like she wants help. She could literally walk out of the facility she is in and get a nursing job. It's unsafe for her and anyone she could potentially care for. Whoever turned me in, saved my life. But she was turned in, has repeated the offense (I assume) and damn near killed herself.

I know no one will get clean until they are ready, but I am really kinda hoping that something is brewing that will force her to. For me, I was turned in to the police and court ordered (GLADLY WENT) to my county's drug court program. Unless of course I wanted to go to prison for 3 years, uuuh NO THANKS. And I can't honestly say I would have gotten help had I not been given that lovely ultimatum. AGAIN that was THE BEST THING THAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED and I am so thankful, AND ALIVE. And helping others like us get through it!

She is worth it, she is far from home. Our friends look to me for hep, because unfortunately I am experienced. But I know nothing when it comes to KY.

What can I do? Who can I call? I feel like someone dropped the ball, how could this happen twice? I'm scrambling, looking for a plan B if plan A fails. She is worth saving, but she is too sick to realize it.

I hope one of you out there can point me in the right direction. I will take any advice, we will do whatever we have to. She helped me, now it's my turn. Crazy how things come full circle.

Thanks in advance!

Just keep swimming!!!!!

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Specializes in Critical Care, Addiction, Peer Support.

Hey there,

I PM'd you as well. Welllllll, the KBN is very recovery friendly, however, I get the idea (from my experience anyway) that the more proactive a person is, the better the outcome. If she is on the fence, she will stay there until she decides to jump off (and she could jump either way). My advice, lay it all down for her, share your story and hope for the best. She must become in charge of her recovery, and that encompasses her KBN license. I think the delay from the board is due to her delay....I called them and spoke to them immediately and requested to be placed into their KARE program. I called them in August, had a KARE agreement in November.

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Bless your heart! I wrote you back! I'm glad you responded on here as well. There will be another KY nurse who will find their way here and you're information will be helpful. Probably comforting too. As we all know, this is a terrifying situation in the beginning. It's a tough journey, but it's worth it! WE ARE WORTH IT!

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Specializes in Critical Care, Addiction, Peer Support.

Yes, it IS terrifying at first and so daunting, like you're never going to see the end of tunnel, but we get there. It is so helpful to have others to lean on for support, I will be happy to help anyone on this journey,

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Specializes in ED RN and Case Manager.

I wish I could PM you but I'm not eligible yet.

This will be long & I apologize. It's the first time I've responded on a thread. Your post just really touched me.

My heart is just breaking for your friend. She's very lucky to have you!

I live in KY & diverted drugs from the Pyxis for my own use. It started as a spur of the moment "one time thing" when I had a very stressful day & had 0.5 mg of Dilaudid in my pocket to waste. Unfortunately, I was immediately hooked. Getting caught 3 months later saved my life! I've always regretted taking that first dose (thus becoming addicted). But never regretted being terminated. It MADE me seek help & now I'm almost 3 years in recovery.

I was not reported to the police. My employer told me that they would wait 24hrs to notify the KBN, in order to give me a chance to self-report first, which I did. I had a chemical dependency evaluation (KBN has a list of KBN approved evaluators), enrolled in an apporoved 7 wk IOP, and received my KBN KARE contract within 8 weeks of my hospital termination.

Stipulations include: Random drug screens x 5 years, no mood altering meds unless certified as medically necessary by a healthcare provider, no administering controlled substances X1 year (then drops to allowed as long as a charge RN or other RN/MD supervisor is on the hospital premises), AA/NA meetings 3x/week x 5 yrs, no supervisory roles x 3 yrs, no home health or travel nursing, etc...

I also had weekly meetings (for 1yr) with a Healthcare Professional recovery group in Louisville (RNs, MDs, Pharmacists, etc). THAT WAS WONDERFUL! The only reason I stopped was because it was a 1hr drive from home. However, the support was amazing. I'm still in touch with a doc and RN & we meet occasionally for lunch. Relationships that this are SO helpful. They TRULY understand me and I can talk without any fear of judgement.

I'm 3 years into Recovery...working in case management , and happier than I've been in the past 15-20 years (way before I started using).

Once your friend decides that she WANTS help & is willing to admit to her problem, she needs to call the KARE Program. The number is listed on the KBN website. If she is facing charges thru the legal system, she probably needs to consult an attorney for that (that's up to her). However, you should know by now if she's facing criminal charges.

IF your not certain (if she's not being forthcoming with you), you can check the Kentucky Court of Justice website (google it) and just enter her name in either her county of residence or the counties of the employers that terminated her. It's public knowledge. Any active charges will appear.

My understanding---the Ky BON does not notify the police---this is up to the employer. However, if she doesn't if she doesn't comply with the board actions, they may report her to the OIG. If that happens, she can't work ANYWHERE in the US that bills Medicare or Medicaid- in any position, from housekeeping, unit secretary, aide, nursing, etc.

Her employer(s) would have contacted KBN when she was terminated- it's KY law. However, she can contact KARE. They can tell her if she can still request admittance or if the Investigative section is already working on her case. Regardless, I think it will help if she contact them. She is the only person that can request admittance into KARE- no one can do it for her.

If it's already in the Investigative branch's hands, it may take longer. I wasn't involved with that branch but have heard it can take months due to understaffing. The Investigative branch can refer her to the KARE program but they can also add a suspension to her license & administer fines.

If she contacts the compliance branch (KARE), they can at least notify them that she wishes to enroll in KARE which may speed up the process. Even though she's behind the curve, she may still want to contact KARE. It certainly will not hurt!

I've heard stories of nurses complaining about their BON's diversion programs---KBN or others out of state. Personally, I've had a wonderful experience. Each time I pay for that negative UDT or finish a stipulation, I don't just feel like I'm proving to the BON that I can do this, but also to myself. I have a great Case Manager that puts me at ease & is always open to my crazy, paranoid questions ( such as the time I bought strawberry champagne lotion based on the smell w/o reading the name of the scent. She referred me to a site to decipher the ingredients...all were okay)!

I hope things go well for your friend & she is able to realize & admit her problem. Nurses feel so ashamed. I did! However the IOP and further recovery groups helped me tackle that, and gave me tremendous support.

Please keep us up updated! And don't lose hope if she challenges you at every turn! I'll be praying for you both!

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Specializes in ED RN and Case Manager.

In response to Tarab334... I didn't add her quote! I'm new to this! Sorry!������

I agree! When I was in a Healthcare Professional Recovery group, I noted that some of the nurses had a much longer road of getting there than I did. However, these nurses had fought the system, as they were so angry while still in denial--they either delayed contacting KBN or had gotten attorneys to fight the charges...I contacted KARE the same day I was terminated. Completed my evaluation, IOP & had my KARE contract within 8-9 weeks. It took a few in my group up to 12-15 months to even be enrolled.

I'm NOT saying that having an attorney is wrong, I know that we can't give ANY legal advice! Just saying that these complaints against nurses were valid-it just took them so long to acknowledge their addiction.

The road to recovery (& salvaging your license) is so much easier when you face your addiction, admit up front and request admittance to KARE. Not to mention saving so much time and avoiding legal fees & board imposed civil fines!

I am so thankful for KARE! It's requirements/restrictions truly saved my life!

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I really want to thank you for sharing. It means a lot and is extremely reassuring to see that you have been successful with this (at this time 3 years). How is everything now? Any new updates?

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Specializes in Critical Care, Addiction, Peer Support.

The road to recovery (& salvaging your license) is so much easier when you face your addiction, admit up front and request admittance to KARE. Not to mention saving so much time and avoiding legal fees & board imposed civil fines!

I am so thankful for KARE! It's requirements/restrictions truly saved my life!

KyBeagle says it best! No doubt!!!

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Not sure if anyone is still participating in this thread or not. I have my meeting tomorrow morning to sign the KARE contract. I'm just curious if anyone remembers how you are suppose to set everything up through affinity for testing and if they give you a time frame to get that completed after signing the contract. Also was curious how the testing is with affinity, like do you have to worry about being selected to test frequently on the weekend or holidays? Just curious because we travel a lot.

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I could really really use words of positivity and encouragement... this thing has been DOWN. I don't really know why being in this program seems like such a life long crazy sentence. It' has my anxiety through the roof!!! I just feel like it is serious overkill. It's messing with mentally and emotionally BAD!

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This is what has bothered me the most!! The what if I am here or there or we're in vacation etc etc when I am chosen to test!!! It makes me want to do NOTHING!! I have 3 children in all sorts of activities and then of course you have holidays... to me it's just too much to expect of someone!! I am about 3 weeks in and had my first screen yesterday... I have read some have been selected as much as 3x in 7 and 10 days!!! Complete BULLCRAP.

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