MEDFORD, Ore. — Medford police are investigating after a nurse at a hospital allegedly tampered with patients' pain medications, resulting in deadly infections, KGW news partner KOBI reported.
Sources who didn't want to be identified told KOBI that a nurse in the Intensive Care Unit at Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center injected several patients with tap water in an attempt to cover up misuse of pain medication, specifically fentanyl. KGW has not independently verified KOBI's reporting. Hospital sources told KOBI as many as nine patients died.
Tap water, which isn't sterile, led to multiple infections of Pseudomonas, the hospital sources told KOBI. Pseudomonas is a type of bacteria commonly found in the environment, like in the soil and in water, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"It could cause sepsis, pneumonia. It could infect all the organs. So it can be a very severe infection," said Dr. Robin Miller, who hosts KOBI's Docs on Call program.
Asante hasn't released any information about the scope of the situation, and hasn't confirmed or directly commented on the allegations against the nurse. The hospital has also not said whether any patients died as a result of allegedly developing an infection after being injected with tap water. The hospital declined an interview with KOBI on Friday and released a statement.
"We were distressed to learn of this issue. We reported it to law enforcement and are working closely with them," the hospital said.
Medford police confirmed that they're investigating, but didn't release any other information. No one is currently charged with a crime, KOBI reported.
The Rogue Valley Times spoke with the families of two alleged victims. The newspaper reported that one family member was told by hospital officials that her husband's death in July had been caused by an infection after fentanyl was switched out with non-sterile tap water. The other family member the newspaper spoke with said he received a phone call on Dec. 18, notifying him that his brother's death in November 2022 was allegedly caused by an infection after a nurse used non-sterile tap water instead of fentanyl.
Replacing drugs with other substances isn't a unique situation and it happens at other hospitals, according to Miller.
"You don't think of medical professionals doing this, but 10% of medical professionals divert drugs," Miller said. "Ten percent, that's a lot."
The Oregon Nurses Association sent a statement to KGW, saying it's aware of the reports but won't comment further until the investigation has concluded.
"The Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) is aware of the distressing news reports about an investigation at Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center, where we represent nurses and allied health care workers," ONA said in the statement. "We will continue to follow as this troubling story unfolds and will not provide further comment until the investigation is complete."
This is a developing story and it may be updated when more information becomes available.