Former ICU nurse arrested on suspicion of substituting tap water for fentanyl

Former Oregon intensive care unit nurse arrested for allegedly diverted fentanyl medical drops and replacing it with tap water.

The Medford Police Department said in a news release that Dani Marie Schofield was arrested Thursday after a “lengthy investigation” into allegations of drug diversion at Asante Rogue Regional Hospital between 2022 and 2023.

The investigation, which lasted seven months, began in early December 2023, the department said, after hospital officials expressed “concern about an increasing number of cases of central line infections” among patients. of the establishment. An internal investigation found that all cases involved patients in intensive care. Schofield, who left the hospital in July 2023, had access to each of the patients, police said.

“It was feared that Schofield had diverted liquid fentanyl from patients for his own use and then replaced it with tap water, causing serious infections,” police said.

CBS News previously reported that Schofield agreed to a voluntary suspension of her nursing license in November, pending the results of an investigation.

Police said that after an investigation that included interviews with nearly 100 people, a grand jury was convened to review the case. The grand jury indicted Schofield on 44 counts of second-degree assault.

“A person commits 2nd degree assault if he or she intentionally or knowingly causes serious bodily injury to another,” police said. “The 44 charges reflect the total number of patients this investigation found to have been affected by Schofield’s criminal actions.”

Schofield was also named in wrongful death lawsuit filed in February, alleging she stole fentanyl from a 65-year-old patient's medical IV while he was in the hospital, leading to his death.

The police department noted that medical experts consulted on the case said the questionable deaths associated with Schofield's case could not be directly attributed to central line infections.

Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid used in medical settings as a pain reliever. It has also fueled the nation's overdose crisis, and hospital theft has been a long-standing problem.