Abstract newspaper in a fluid shape, 3d rendering
COLUMBUS, Ind. — A nurse at a long-term care facility in Bartholomew County has waived an initial hearing on charges stemming from allegations that she took opioid pills prescribed to residents from a narcotic drawer and put them in her purse.
An attorney representing Erin R. McMillan, 44, of 3313 Deerbrook Drive, Columbus, appeared in Bartholomew Superior Court 1 on Wednesday and filed to waive her initial hearing. No court dates had been set as of Thursday morning. She is being represented by Indianapolis attorney Kevin Green.
McMillan, a licensed practical nurse who used to work for Millers Merry Manor in Hope and was voted “best nurse” by The Republic’s readers last year, paid a $750 cash bond to the Bartholomew County Clerk’s Office on June 29 but was never booked into the Bartholomew County Jail.
Bartholomew County Prosecutor Lindsey Holden-Key referred questions about the case to the Indiana Attorney General’s Office, which is prosecuting the case. The Indiana Attorney General’s Office said they were unsure why she was not booked into the jail or where she posted bond.
McMillan has been charged with obtaining a controlled substance by fraud; furnishing false or fraudulent information; and failure to make, keep or furnish a record — all Level 6 felonies.
A probable cause affidavit filed in Bartholomew Superior Court 1 alleges that video footage viewed by staff at Millers Merry Manor shows McMillan repeatedly removing medications from the facility’s narcotic drawer and then not dispensing them to residents from May 2, 2022, to May 18, 2022.
“They noticed peculiar behaviors on video of McMillan,” the affidavit states. “Some of those behaviors were removing medications from the narcotic box and then never leaving the area to go and administer the medications. They also saw her walk around from where the medication cart was, back behind the nurse’s station where the computers are, and it appeared that something was in her hand. She picked up a bag and puts something into her personal bag.”
One official at Millers Merry Manor told investigators that “you could visibly watch McMillan get into the narcotic drawer at one point (and) take out multiple narcotics at one time, put it into a cup and go directly to her purse,” the affidavit states.
Millers Merry Manor also conducted an internal audit of all resident narcotic count sheets and found that their records indicated that McMillan was allegedly dispensing opioids to residents on days that she was not scheduled to work or several hours before she clocked in, according to the affidavit.
The medications allegedly included tramadol and oxycodone, which are opioids that are prescribed to relieve pain but can become habit-forming.
For more on this story, see Friday’s Republic.
