Former Trinity Home Health and Hospice Nurses Face Felony Drug Diversion Charges as Minot Police Search for Suspects
The former nurses are being accused of diluting nursing home patients’ medications, and of administering morphine instead of hydromorphone, a stronger version of the drug as prescribed by their doctor to manage their pain. A story in the Minot Daily News reports that Beckler and Kochel were reported to the North Dakota Board of Nursing in 2014, and then they voluntarily surrendered their nursing licenses after admitting to the allegations of drug diversion. The news story continues with a statement given by another hospice nurse who worked with Beckler and Kochel at Trinity Hospice. She told the Minot police that Beckler had made a confession to her in September 2014 about having worked with Kochel after a patient died. They brought the unused medication back to the office and both nurses ingested the medication.
Further investigation conducted by a supervisor and pharmacy director at Trinity Hospital into the medical and pharmacy records of 104 patients that Beckler and Kochel cared for. The investigation unearthed multiple instances of “drug diversions” by both women, and Napora was implicated in some of the cases.
According to a Minot Police Department news release, the charges vary for each of the suspects depending on their involvement in the case, but they consist of Endangering a Vulnerable Adult (B felony), Conspiracy (C felony) and Theft of Property (C felony). Suspects Kim Kochel and April Becker are suspects who are still at large and Minot police have issued warrants for their arrest for their involvement in this drug diversion case.
Trinity’s hospice care program promises to offer comfort to patients who are at the end stages of a disease and who want to be made comfortable as they pass away. Palliative care promises comfort in the form of pain relief for patients who are likely in a great deal of pain in their last days of a terminal illness. Advertising their facility as, “the premier home health agency in North Dakota,” Trinity Home Health/Hospice nurses, allegedly for at least two years, diluted and diverted prescription pain medication that was meant for their patients, causing those patients to suffer needlessly while their care givers enjoyed the benefits of and possibly profited from the medications prescribed to ease their pain as they endured their final days.
Potential harm to patients from drug diversion
Drug diversion can cause harm to patients in several ways including the patient receiving inadequate care because the caregiver is impaired by drugs, they do not receive the pain relief that was prescribed to them because a health care worker has appropriated their medications, and the patient may be at risk of infection from health care workers tampering with injectable drugs.
If you are aware of the abuse or neglect or exploitation of a vulnerable adult who is a resident of Trinity Home Health/Hospice or any other North Dakota nursing home, you have a duty to report it to an appropriate law enforcement agency. You can file a report online, or you can call North Dakota Vulnerable Adult Protective Services at 1-855-462-5465
If your loved one has suffered injury or harm at Trinity or another North Dakota nursing home, we urge you to speak with an experienced Minot, North Dakota nursing home abuse attorney now.
The compassionate Minot, North Dakota nursing home abuse attorneys at Larson Law are here to protect the rights of victims of nursing home abuse. We are prepared to take strong legal action against these facilities who neglect patients. Call us at 701-484-4878 or contact us for your free initial consultation.