“Immediate Danger to Public” — RIDOH Suspends Nurse’s License
Wednesday, February 01, 2023
The Rhode Island Department of Health has issued a summary suspension of a nurse’s license in the state, claiming that the practitioner continuing to work would constitute an “immediate danger to the public.”
This week, RIDOH suspended respondent Patricia Hendrickson’s nursing license, stating the department has evidence of Hendrickson “replacing a patient’s pain management medications (controlled substance) with visibly similar looking over the counter medications.”
Further, RIDOH continues that the department “has evidence that several controlled substances were unaccounted for while under respondent’s care and duty.”
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTA final determination on the nursing license will be made at a hearing on February 7.
About Case
In its suspension, RIDOH cites an incident in a long-term care facility in the state in October, in which they said Hendrickson tried to say a patient in a walker broke a bister pack of Oxycodone pills by rolling over it — which an investigation and surveillance footage showed not to be the case.
Moreover, RIDOH says the pills that were discarded were discovered to be Claritin — not Oxycodone.
RIDOH subsequently conducted an audit of Hendrickson’s narcotic administration, and a review of five random residents in a five day period in December “revealed that the respondent documented removing Oxycodone thirty times in the Narcotic Book sheets and charted ten Oxycodone administrations in the EMAR, resulting in twenty removals of Oxycodone being unaccounted for.”
Moreover, RIDOH said of the 30 removals, seven exceeded the dose ordered by the provider.
In its “allegations of violations of regulations and statutes” RIDOH states the respondent violated Rhode Island General Law “by taking part in unprofessional conduct as they willfully filed false reports or records in the practice of nursing.”
Latest RIDOH Action
In January, a Brown University Professor of Psychiatry was placed on probation by RIDOH for an inappropriate relationship.
In addition in January, two health professionals were suspended by RIDOH after reports of sexual assault and, in a separate incident, alleged having cocaine on the premise of a facility.
Both alleged crimes took place at nursing homes in Rhode Island.
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