Albany, New York LPN Feeds Addiction With Nursing Home Meds

Thanks to lax med monitoring procedures at the Albany County Nursing Home, Soynette S. Somerville, a licensed practical nurse, was able to steal prescription drugs from the nursing home over a period of several months. That according to an Albany Times Union article. According to the article, the med thefts were detected when the nursing home tried to order a new round of Lortab (a drug containing a highly addictive painkiller) from a local drug company.

The drug company questioned the nursing home on why the prescription was being refilled. The questioning led to an investigation which led to Ms. Somerville's arrest for med theft.

Thumbs down for the nursing home for not picking up on the med theft sooner. Thumbs up for the drug company for questioning the request for a med refill. Who says drug company's care more about money than patients? Well, that may be an overstatement but good for the drug company anyway.