Two Nebraska nurses have been disciplined following an investigation into medication handling at an Omaha hospice. The Nebraska Attorney General’s Office says disciplinary charges were filed against Melanie Costlow, a registered nurse and owner of Endless Journey Hospice, and Nicole Beck, the hospice’s former executive director.
Investigators alleged narcotics belonging to dead patients were kept in an unlocked cabinet and that staff re-used those medications for other patients without proper prescriptions. The petition also claims employees were told to document the drugs as destroyed when they were actually being re-used.
Costlow was also accused of failing to report misdemeanor convictions to the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, misrepresenting those convictions on nursing license renewal applications, transporting medications from deceased Lincoln patients to Omaha, and allowing unlicensed staff to sign patient records as licensed professionals.
Beck was accused of directing employees to return unused medications to the hospice, keeping the unsecured narcotics cabinet, and signing patient records as a physician, social worker, and volunteer coordinator.
The Attorney General’s Office says charges against both nurses include improper handling of controlled substances, falsifying patient records, ethics violations, and violations of Nebraska’s Uniform Controlled Substances Act.
Under settlement agreements approved by the state’s Chief Medical Officer, both nursing licenses have been suspended for 90 days. Each nurse must complete ethics training and pay a $10,000 civil penalty.