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A Bartholomew County judge has set dates for a change of plea hearing and jury trial for a nurse at a local long-term care who was accused of taking opioid pills prescribed to residents from a narcotic drawer and putting them in her purse.
Erin McMillan, 44, of 3313 Deerbrook Drive, is scheduled to have a change of plea hearing on Oct. 30 and a jury trial on Nov. 28, according to records filed Friday in Bartholomew Superior Court 1.
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, 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.
McMillan paid a $750 cash bond to the Bartholomew County Clerk’s Office on June 29 but was never booked into the Bartholomew County Jail, according to jail records. The sheriff’s department has confirmed that they do not have information required in the book-in process, including fingerprints or a booking photo on file for McMillan.
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.
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.
The charges against McMillan were part of a nationwide initiative led by the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services against doctors, nurses and other licensed medical professionals for alleged participation in health care fraud schemes, according to the Indiana Attorney General’s office.
The investigation into McMillan was one of eight criminal investigations by the Indiana Attorney General’s office’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit into alleged Medicaid fraud that led to charges being filed against nine people.
