A former Oregon intensive care unit nurse has been taken into police custody on allegations of substituting her critically-ill patients’ pain medication with tap water.
ICU nurse treated herself to patients drugs
Dani Mari Schofield was charged with 44 counts of second-degree assault, reflecting the number of patients affected by her alleged actions, according to the Medford Police Department.
According to the police statement, the second-degree assault charges are sought by prosecutors when a suspect “intentionally or knowingly causes serious physical injury to another,” person.
She was arrested almost seven months after officials at Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center notified police about an uptick in central line infections. Central lines are tubes inserted into large veins near heart to deliver medication, blood, fluids, or nutrition.
“There was concern that Schofield had been diverting patients’ liquid fentanyl for her personal use and replacing it with tap water, leading to serious infections,” the statement read.
ICU nurse killed one or more patients
Police did not disclose how many patients Schofield allegedly pulled the pain med swap on had died from her actions, but there seems to be at least one.
The estate of Horace Wilson, a patient who lost his life after being hospitalized at the facility for shattered ribs and a lacerated spleen after falling off a ladder in January 2022, filed a lawsuit this March.
The lawsuit claimed Wilson’s pain medication was switched out with non-sterile tap water, which pumped bacteria into his bloodstream and caused his death.
Asante and Schofield were named as defendants in the lawsuit, which accused both the nurse and the hospital of negligence.
Police said that Schofield stopped working at the medical center in July 2023 and voluntarily agreed to a suspension of her nursing license the following November.
‘Evil’ nurse pleads out to avoid death penalty
Last month, a deranged Pennsylvania nurse, Heather Pressdee, avoided the death penalty by pleading guilty to multiple murder charges.
Pressdee, 41, admitted to administering fatal or near-fatal insulin doses to numerous patients, leading to her receiving three consecutive life sentences and an additional 380-760 years during a May court appearance.
When questioned by her lawyer about her guilty plea, Pressdee simply stated, “Because I am guilty.”
Her confession implicated her in the deaths of at least 17 patients across five healthcare facilities in four counties from 2020 to 2023, prosecutors disclosed.
The victims, aged between 43 and 104, often faced scorn and nasty remarks from Pressdee, according to her former coworkers.
Pressdee faced charges of three counts of first-degree murder and 19 counts of attempted murder, when she was initially accused in May 2023 of killing two nursing home patients and harming another.
Further police scrutiny uncovered enough evidence for numerous additional charges.
While entering her plea in a Pennsylvania courtroom, Pressdee responded with minimal words and was seemingly impassive as she listened to victim impact statements.
During her sentencing, family members of the victims labeled her the ‘Angel of Death’.
“She is not sick. She is not insane. She is evil personified,” one heartbroken daughter said in court.
Prosecutors asserted that Pressdee administered excessive insulin doses to 22 patients, including some who were not even diabetic.
Two fatalities occurred at the Quality of Life Services facility in Chicora, Pennsylvania, where Pressdee was employed.
She often gave insulin to unsuspecting patients during overnight shifts when there were few staff members on duty at the facility.
Most patients succumbed shortly after receiving the fatal dose of insulin.
Her nursing license was suspended after charges were filed at the beginning of last year.
Court documents revealed Pressdee texted her mother numerous times between April 2022 and May 2023, to complain about patients and fellow staffers.
She also told her mother that she thought about hurting patients under her care.
Pressdee’s work history was littered with disciplinary actions for “abusive behavior” towards patients and fellow staffers.
She resigned or was fired from multiple Pennsylvania care facilities since 2018.
“The defendant used her position of trust as a means to poison patients who depended on her for care,” Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry remarked remarked in a statement.
“This plea and life sentence will not bring back the lives lost, but it will ensure Heather Pressdee never has another opportunity to inflict further harm. I offer my sincere sympathy to all who have suffered at this defendant’s hands.”
