Woman admits fentanyl theft

Can anyone get much lower?

Yep! The officals who slap them on the wrist!

But what about not ever being allowed to work around helpless people ever again?

Taking drugs will make one stoop to lower than low..Only cares about that fix and to hell with everyone else..Glad she got caught.

Even doctors succumb to the temptation of taking the drugs that they themselves prescribe.This does not indicate that this is an evil person, just that this is a person that needs intensive help.

Huge Johnson wrote:

Even doctors succumb to the temptation of taking the drugs that they themselves prescribe.This does not indicate that this is an evil person, just that this is a person that needs intensive help.

The doctors shouldn't give patches out, pills aren't good enough,its easier to wear the patch, thats about it, some of these doctors are given to much freedom, dispensing these narcotics.

Hopefully the woman will be banned from ever working in any capacity in a long term care facility or hospital!
She should have received a much harsher sentence,this is a mere inconvenience for her!

Open your eyes people. This kind of stuff happens everyday in nursing homes. The residents in these homes are helpless against those who take advantage of them. Most of the elderly have no voice when it comes to their care in these places. In most cases it's the word of a confused old woman/man against that of those who run nursing homes. I call them "shelters for the elderly". Why is it we take care of our stray and abused animals better than we take care of our elderly. I know what drugs do to people. I see it everyday. Leah is an addict and has been doing this for a while, but guess what? She isn't the only one. I hope she gets the help she needs but there will be someone else to take her place. Some advice for familys with loved ones in nursing homes. Watch them closley!

Alex wrote:

Some advice for familys with loved ones in nursing homes. Watch them closley!

I watch my mother as closely as I can, calling frequently, visiting, but I can't be there every second what with working a full-time job. There should be a lot more supervision of these nursing home workers. We trust them with our frail and helpless.

Trish wrote:

<quoted text>
I watch my mother as closely as I can, calling frequently, visiting, but I can't be there every second what with working a full-time job. There should be a lot more supervision of these nursing home workers. We trust them with our frail and helpless.

I know it can be a difficult for families. If they know you are involved in your moms life and watching closely, you have nothing to worry about. The ones at risk are those who don't have daughters like you.
While you are there vistiting your mom maybe you could keep your ears and eyes open. If you think you see any type of abuse, report it. It is up to all of us to protect those who can not protect them selves.

I happen to be reading these comments some of you really urk me! Look not all aides are addicts or bad at their job Thee are some excellent ones out there and they aren't hard to find I could name them but idk if they'd be pissed that i mentioned them on here! Furthermore, We don't abuse our residents. I worked at the Commons and the biggest problem is being understaffed and yes they have aides that are to young to understand getting off your ass helps these people have a somewhat productive yet boreing existence, so I am sure in desperation they hired someone without checking up on her. It sux and it's not right but what can they do the commons is huge and there are only a handful of really good aide there.
It's not right to judge a nursing staff by just 1 worker!!! I was an excellent aide (and now nurse) and I know and have worked with the best c.n.a.'s out there.
Put yourself in our shoes and walk a mile ... come into work to get people out of beds some are heavy as hell soiled from head to toe in food from meals feces, some beat on you then you clean the persons brief, feed them baby food and wear half of it ... bring them to the rooms and then go back out and start putting number 1 of 30 people to bed but first you have to give 2 showers, and of course one of them has a brief with a load in it so take him to his bed clean him and then to the shower. Some beat the tar outta you just trying to help them get clothing off let alone showering, It is a hard and thankless and very hard job! I can see how Hillcrest commons made a mistake hiring her but luckly, she will never get to work in the nursing field again Mass. State is very strict especially in elder abuse cases after the aide accused of rape At Laurel Lake Nusring Mass, has been tightening the belts on aides making more visits to nursing homes, better disapline and non rehires for drugies. fail a drug test you don't get a second chance thank god!
I wish she was working here with me she would have gotten reported to the state after her "accidental" fall in the shower room with the me and the rest of my Aides.
I hate people stealing from a person who is to out of it to do anything come pick on someone your own size come take my pain meds!!!
If this is the patient I am thinking the poor thing can't have a minute without pain all day and night and god knows her patch doesn't relieve as much as the dr had hoped, so you can only imagine ever part of you body in constant severe pain.
What do they give her a month in jail. What is it with "The Pitt" she should have gotten some hard time and then thrown into a rehab... maybe even go face to face with the patient and apologize. If she had to go to a rehab she would have to appologize to everyone she hurt doing this crap!
You all need new judges in Pittsfield. Where is that hard ass Barbalunga that used to lock and leaven em??? Did he grow a conscience or is he retired????

The people on here who are talking about druggies only needing to find their next fix and the fact that Doctors need to tighten up on giving drugs need to realize something.Let's begin with the fact that there is a very fine line between controlling pain and addiction. In Berkshire County we are very lucky to have the New England Pain Center as its Doctors are aware of this. They watch their patients very closely and have an excellent staff to aid them. Not all people who have chronic pain are druggies and it really annoys me that some people think they are. What some of you are doing is called stinking thinking meaning you believe everyone on pain meds are addicts. This is not true.

Is there some good reason why healthcare workers shouldn't routinely have to pee in a cup? I'm all for civil liberties, but when people take responsibility for other people's health and safety, they should be held to a higher standard.

Blown out of the water wrote:

I happen to be reading these comments some of you really urk me! Look not all aides are addicts or bad at their job Thee are some excellent ones out there and they aren't hard to find I could name them but idk if they'd be pissed that i mentioned them on here! Furthermore, We don't abuse our residents. I worked at the Commons and the biggest problem is being understaffed and yes they have aides that are to young to understand getting off your ass helps these people have a somewhat productive yet boreing existence, so I am sure in desperation they hired someone without checking up on her. It sux and it's not right but what can they do the commons is huge and there are only a handful of really good aide there.
It's not right to judge a nursing staff by just 1 worker!!! I was an excellent aide (and now nurse) and I know and have worked with the best c.n.a.'s out there.
Put yourself in our shoes and walk a mile ... come into work to get people out of beds some are heavy as hell soiled from head to toe in food from meals feces, some beat on you then you clean the persons brief, feed them baby food and wear half of it ... bring them to the rooms and then go back out and start putting number 1 of 30 people to bed but first you have to give 2 showers, and of course one of them has a brief with a load in it so take him to his bed clean him and then to the shower. Some beat the tar outta you just trying to help them get clothing off let alone showering, It is a hard and thankless and very hard job! I can see how Hillcrest commons made a mistake hiring her but luckly, she will never get to work in the nursing field again Mass. State is very strict especially in elder abuse cases after the aide accused of rape At Laurel Lake Nusring Mass, has been tightening the belts on aides making more visits to nursing homes, better disapline and non rehires for drugies. fail a drug test you don't get a second chance thank god!
I wish she was working here with me she would have gotten reported to the state after her "accidental" fall in the shower room with the me and the rest of my Aides.
I hate people stealing from a person who is to out of it to do anything come pick on someone your own size come take my pain meds!!!
If this is the patient I am thinking the poor thing can't have a minute without pain all day and night and god knows her patch doesn't relieve as much as the dr had hoped, so you can only imagine ever part of you body in constant severe pain.
What do they give her a month in jail. What is it with "The Pitt" she should have gotten some hard time and then thrown into a rehab... maybe even go face to face with the patient and apologize. If she had to go to a rehab she would have to appologize to everyone she hurt doing this crap!
You all need new judges in Pittsfield. Where is that hard ass Barbalunga that used to lock and leaven em??? Did he grow a conscience or is he retired????

Rutberg and Mc Elroy should be charged with impersonating someone with common sense, they are both jokes of the bench.

Ramdan wrote:

Hopefully the woman will be banned from ever working in any capacity in a long term care facility or hospital!
She should have received a much harsher sentence,this is a mere inconvenience for her!

There are good reasons for the patch, one of them is that not everyone can take medication in pill form and may need the timed release action that a patch provides!

Alex wrote:

Open your eyes people. This kind of stuff happens everyday in nursing homes. The residents in these homes are helpless against those who take advantage of them. Most of the elderly have no voice when it comes to their care in these places. In most cases it's the word of a confused old woman/man against that of those who run nursing homes. I call them "shelters for the elderly". Why is it we take care of our stray and abused animals better than we take care of our elderly. I know what drugs do to people. I see it everyday. Leah is an addict and has been doing this for a while, but guess what? She isn't the only one. I hope she gets the help she needs but there will be someone else to take her place. Some advice for familys with loved ones in nursing homes. Watch them closley!

You assume that there are no safeguards in place to protect the elderly in nursing homes and long term care facilities.
Each and every employee and volunteer has the obligation to report abuse and neglect,there is also a state ombudsman who visits the facility and meets with residents and families on a regular basis.
Unfortunately there are some employees who are less than perfect in the care they give to the individual resident.
My wife is a department head in a long term care and rehabilitation facility,she has moved up through the ranks over a period of twenty years,from her original position as a Certified Nursing Assistant to the managerial position she holds today.
During her career she has reported a number of suspected cases of staff neglect or abuse,ranging from small things like improper nail care to suspicious bruises on a resident.
I do some volunteer work at her facility,and have had concerns about certain things I have witnessed regarding privacy,the condition of a residents clothing,proper positioning,never abuse.
Once I brought one of my concerns to the attention of a Nurse and she more or less blew me off,so I immediately went to the Manager on duty and filed a complaint,this got immediate results!

Everyone who enters one of these facilities needs to take notice of things like cleanliness,staff attentiveness,the appearance of the residents,many things.
Yes there are some people who just want to put in there time and go home,but ninety nine per cent of the employees stay at these very demanding and for the most part thankless jobs because they truly care about the residents!
If you have a loved one in any kind of facility,walk around a bit and notice what staff is doing,how the residents look,what odors are present,check out a resident bathroom,observe a mealtime routine.
If you see something that does not strike you as being right,speak to a person in a managerial position and get the name of the person that you observed,and the name of the manager you reported them to.Too many negative observations,call the State and report your concerns!

What a piece of crap she is. How about the rest of the scum bags that nursing homes hire that do the same thing.

Way to go D.A.'s office... You guys are rediculuse, you wanna young teenagers 2 years for selling a little pot, but this lady can take advantage of a helpless elderly woman and get slapped on the wrist. This justice system is a slap in the face!!!!

Bull wrote:

Way to go D.A.'s office... You guys are rediculuse, you wanna young teenagers 2 years for selling a little pot, but this lady can take advantage of a helpless elderly woman and get slapped on the wrist. This justice system is a slap in the face!!!!

Serious problems exist with these fools priorities!

I am very familiar with this nursing home as my best friend's family member is there and I can't tell you the amount of times he has complained about things from the laundry left in her room to the condition he finds her in. He has made many complaints to find it gets better for a little while and then goes right back to the way things were. The state was even called in and things just do not get better. I know how hard the job is, I worked in a facility for a while, and I know there are some very good people who work there. But something needs to change and too many people cover things up, as I know people were aware of this persons problems. I wish that I had someone to advocate for me the way this person's family advocated for her, it would be worse for her if he wasn't there.