Federal prosecutors claim that a registered nurse who took their painkillers and ingested them while working in an intensive care unit was in charge of caring for thoroughly poor soldiers.
Instead of giving the right amount of morphine, hydromorphone and tramadol prescribed to her people, Tara Severino may drink some, or all, of the dosages at the West Haven VA Medical Center in Connecticut, judge documents say.
According to court documents, at least three veterans were dying, including one who Severino volunteered to care for in his final days, and did n’t receive the pain medication they were prescribed.
However, Severino frequently gave morphine to a 39- yr- older man who felt no pain because he was brain dying, prosecutors wrote in Severino’s plea agreement.
Over nine days, Severino “introduced fentanyl into ( his ) body” 19 times” so that she could divert some for herself”, the plea agreement says.
According to the prosecution, Severino said she had witnessed the person having a epilepsy and that she knew he was hurt.
On June 18, Severino, 58, of West Haven , pleaded guilty to obtaining controlled substances , by fraud or trickery, the U. S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut announced in a media release.
On June 20, McClatchy News requested comment from her defense attorney, but she did n’t respond right away.
Severino worked at the West Haven VA middle from Jan. 1, 2023, to July 31, 2023, according to her appeal deal.
The U. S. Attorney’s company is advising:
” If you or someone you know may have been victimized by the actions of … Tara Severino while she was employed at the VA, please contact Special Agent Abraham Raymond at ( 202 ) 262- 2337 or , ]email , protected ]”.
Nurse tries to hide substance escape
Severino,” to cover up her atrocities”, lied in VA health information and tracking devices about the drugs she was supposed to give to her people, prosecution said.
On some instances, she ingested the “waste” of a medicine after giving part of the material to a person, according to prosecutors.
In these cases, she’d say the compounds were “properly disposed of”, lawyers said.
The care plans of two dying veterans, who were “receiving finish- of- life’ ease measures,'” were affected when Severino ingested their pain medications rather of administering them, prosecutors wrote in Severino’s plea agreement.
Additional members of the VA employees were mistaken about the doses being wrong for both individuals because Severino claimed in medical information that they had received the hydromorphone and fentanyl prescribed.
A third veteran, who was n’t Severino’s patient until she volunteered to take care of him before his death, did n’t receive pain medication in his final days because she similarly stole it, according to the plea agreement.
According to the prosecution, Severino faces up to four years in jail if found guilty. She is set to be sentenced on Sept. 12.
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