Missoula Hospital Nurse Admits Diverting Drugs for Her Own Use

61 year-old Mary Schmidt Monahan, a nurse at Community Medical Center in Missoula, pleaded guilty in Missoula federal court on Thursday to diverting drugs meant for patients for her own use.

A press release from the Department of Justice, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Montana states that the allegations against Monahan include the facts that she diverted fentanyl and hydromorphone while she was a nurse in the Post-Anesthesia Care unit at the hospital.

Missoula Nurse Admits Diverting Drugs

A fellow employee stated that she observed Monahan diverting the drugs. When questioned by her supervisors, she admitted that she had been diverting the drugs to herself for almost a year. She admitted to a DEA agent that only a portion of the medications were administered to patients, while she kept the rest of the drugs for herself.

Monahan faces up to four years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is set for April 26 in federal court.

The information in this story was obtained from sources that are publicly viewable.

She has been released pending further proceedings.

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Filed Under: Community Medical Center, Diverting Drugs, Drug Crime, U.S. District Court

Categories: Missoula News