Good Night Shift Nurse Bad Fentanyl Nurse
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Hey everybody, this is Tina again with Good Nurse, Bad Nurse. Welcome back to another episode of this podcast where we'll use stories from the news to shine a light on things going on in the world of healthcare, both, you guessed it, good and bad. This week, we're going to be tackling the case of Danny Marie Schofield.

Some of you are probably, I would say maybe most of you are familiar with it. If you follow social media at all, at least the world of nursing, you probably have heard of the story. You might not know her name. This is a former ICU nurse whose career took a devastating turn. She's accused of swapping life-saving medications with tap water, leaving a trail of suffering in her wake.

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to Advantis Health to learn more. That's goodnursebadnurse.com and click on the link to Advantis Health. And before I do get started, I have to say up front that

These are allegations. And she is definitely maintaining her innocence. These allegations have not been proven to be true. So some of these cases just take forever to work their way through the legal system. And sometimes they never, you never know how they end. And no matter how hard you try, you can't find the resolution. And it's probably most likely because there was some sort of a deal that was made.

And I feel like I set cases to the side a lot because of that. And mainly because I don't... It's really...

easy to imagine a world in which you are accused of doing something and it's not really fair that everyone is calling you guilty and acting as though you're guilty when you haven't had an opportunity to really defend yourself. So I want to say that up front. She has not been proven guilty. So just to kind of get that out of the way.

At the same time, these are very serious allegations and she's not the only person to have been accused of doing something that and there definitely have been other people who have been convicted of this. So I really want to shine a light on the act.

alleged act and kind of talk about what the repercussions are for that. So let's take a step back to understand just how a nurse entrusted with the care of vulnerable patients found herself facing 44 counts of second degree assault. So Danny Marie Schofield worked as an ICU nurse at Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center in Medford, Oregon. So from the outside,

just another healthcare worker in the trenches dealing with the day-to-day pressures of patient care. But under the surface, if these allegations are true, something had gone terribly wrong. She was accused of diverting fentanyl, which obviously most people know that's a very powerful opioid often used for severe pain in the ICU setting. She was replacing it apparently, allegedly with nothing more than tap water,

Now, we're going to pause for just a moment and explain why. And I can imagine for some people that if you're not in health care, if you're not a nurse, if you're not in that setting, you might not understand all of the reasons why that's so dangerous. It's definitely criminal.

But, I mean, fentanyl is not just any drug. It's one of the strongest painkillers that we have, especially critical patients in the ICU who are battling serious illnesses or injuries. And when this fentanyl is replaced with tap water, these patients weren't just left in pain. Many of them developed severe infections from the unsterile water injected directly into their bloodstream. So that is...

a problem that can arise from, and this is something that we see with people who struggle with substance use disorder, who use tap water to, and they maybe take pills and crush them up and put them into just regular tap water and then inject that. Not understanding that, number one, the crushed pills, if you don't get them completely 100%

diluted into the water, that can cause huge problems. But even if you do, and I think a lot of times people think that they're able to sterilize the water, they're able to do things to completely dissolve the pills, it doesn't always work the way they think it's going to. And that ends up causing an embolism or some sort of problem like that. But infection is probably one of the biggest problems

issues that arise from this type of illicit drug use. But what is happening here is that there are people in the hospital who are very sick, who are very vulnerable, who are needing pain medication. And instead of getting pain medication, not only are they not getting the pain medication that they need, they are having this tap water injected into their bloodstream.

This is just a huge problem. Hospitals use sterilized equipment and fluids for a reason. Introducing any kind of a foreign element like tap water is just rolling the dice with a person's life.

Now, her crimes were not discovered. Her alleged crimes were not discovered overnight. It took months of investigation by the hospital and the police, during which time patients suffered under her care. We see this a lot with these stories that we do, where there's some behavior that is suspected. Somehow, some way, someone has come, kind of been put under the spotlight.

They don't usually realize that they're put under the spotlight, but they're put under the spotlight. Someone's watching you. Someone's watching this person. And in the meantime, though, they can't watch them 24-7. I mean, these people are doing, they're pretty good at hiding their behaviors. So they could very well be harming someone while under investigation.

According to the investigators, she's been linked to the infections of 44 different individuals during her final year working at the hospital. Investigators combed through countless records, interviewed nearly 100 witnesses, and pieced together a grim timeline. She allegedly began diverting fentanyl in July of 2022 and continued until her departure in July 2023. So by the time she was caught, the damage had been done immediately.

But here's the really troubling part. Several patients died during this period. One patient, Horace Wilson, became the focal point of a wrongful death lawsuit. His family claims that the fentanyl meant for his pain relief was replaced with tap water, leading to a fatal infection. However, despite these deaths, medical experts couldn't conclusively tie the fatalities directly to Schofield's actions.

So because there wasn't clear causation, that meant that while she was charged with second degree assault, there were no murder charges. And that left family members really frustrated and heartbroken, as you can imagine. One family member said, it's not just about the legal system. My mother suffered in pain. They told me the nurse responsible would face consequences, but it's hard knowing that nothing will bring her back.

So you can imagine having a family member in the hospital. And I've worked in hospitals. I've taken care of countless patients, countless family members. It's really difficult to imagine how someone would feel knowing that their loved one passed away. And you think you're processing it under certain circumstances. And then you find out that this happened. And

You have to ask yourself, would they still be alive had this not happened? And according to these medical examiners that were involved in these cases, they didn't feel like they could say that. They did not feel like they could say that these patients would still be alive had this event not happened. It's a little surprising to me because when I think about some of the other cases that I've covered and the

And think about some nurses who have been arrested and charged criminally for acts that were a whole lot less intentional and convicted. It is kind of surprising to me that someone who allegedly did a very deliberate act, that they would say that they couldn't prove that because the patients were very sick already,

that they couldn't prove that it was the infection that came from the, and they know that they did get infected. They had infections that came, but they can't say that they died because of the infections. So let's talk about motive. The police were pretty tight-lipped about whether Schofield was using the stolen fentanyl for personal use or selling it. But one thing is very clear.

Addiction in healthcare workers is a growing issue. And she's hardly the first nurse, as I said earlier, to be caught diverting narcotics, allegedly. In previous cases, like that of Nina Dang Nguyen in California, Catherine Ann Derbyshire in Florida, similar patterns, nurses who were struggling with substance use disorder, addicted to narcotics. And then a lot of times,

A lot of times if you listen to these nurses, they will tell you that it was due to the stress and trauma of the job, that it just turned, it just escalated and got out of control. And then unfortunately having the medication right there available was just way too strong of a temptation. And that led to depression.

stealing the medications that were ultimately intended for their patients. I think that most of these nurses, had you asked them way back before any of this started, way before they went down this road, if you had asked them, would you ever steal medications from your patient? Would you ever take a medication that was intended to relieve someone of pain and steal it and swap it with something else?

that you knew was not going to help relieve them of pain? I'm sure that most of these nurses would say no. But that's what happens. You go down that road, and one thing leads to another. And that's kind of where this ends for a lot of people, unfortunately. You end up hurting a lot of people. Wynne, for instance, was caught replacing fentanyl with saline. Maybe a little bit better, because saline at least is...

I'm sure it was something that was in a vial that was drawn up and injected back into the fentanyl vial. You know, you could argue, well, at least sterile, you know, a sterile product meant to go into a human being's veins was used. So you could say that that doesn't change the fact that the patients were left in severe pain. Gressier said,

In New York and Delgado and Texas also diverted fentanyl and kind of had similar outcomes. When a nurse starts diverting drugs, especially something as powerful as fentanyl, the consequences are dire, not only for their career, but for every patient under their care.

So how did Dani Schofield end up here? It's hard to say exactly when things started to go wrong. According to reports, she had assets worth over $380,000 and lived in a relatively stable life in Medford, Oregon. But at some point, that life just took a dark turn. Was it addiction? Was it stress? I mean, we may never know the full story.

She faces 44 counts of second-degree assault, and under Oregon's Measure 11 law, these charges carry mandatory minimum prison sentences. If convicted, she could be facing significant time behind bars. Her bail's been set at $4 million. And families like that of Horace Wilson are continuing to pursue civil suits.

seeking some form of justice for their loved ones. So you can imagine if there are other people who realize, oh, my loved one was in the hospital around that same time. As the word starts to get out, more and more people will put two and two together, especially if there are any situations in which people were kind of scratching their heads going, I don't

I'm really surprised that, you know, this just came out of nowhere. You know, if that happens and people really start questioning and they go back and find more, or depending maybe on how Horace Wilson's case turns out, more people may come forward. The medical community, of course, has rallied in response to this in similar cases, calling for stricter oversight of narcotics in hospitals. It's hard to imagine having worked in hospitals

hospitals, several hospitals myself and dealt with fentanyl and other types of narcotics, as we all do, it's really, really difficult to imagine someone thinking they could get away with this. Just in the settings that I've worked in, I could not imagine thinking that I could get away with something like this. But

desperate times call for desperate measures, I guess. And I think people just, it's not something that when you're clear petted, it's not something that is going to make sense. So they, you know, of course, we've got automated drug dispensing, better monitoring of healthcare workers and comprehensive mental health support. Of course, that is a big answer. It would, it help.

to have better mental health support in hospitals where nurses are put under an immense amount of pressure and stress. I'm not sure. I really don't know. I do know that right now in this country, the state I live in is terrible, but I don't think it's much better in other states. Support for people's mental health is just, you know, the resources are just non-existent unless you have a lot of money.

And most people working in this setting, nurses, CNAs, respiratory therapists, people that are working at the bedside in these high pressure settings with the limited resources that they have, they don't make the kind of money that you have to make in order to be able to afford the resources that you need for mental health support. So for now, the damage is done.

and the healing for both the victims and the reputation of the healthcare profession. It's going to take time. And this is, I don't think this is the last story that's going to come around about this sort of thing, unfortunately. But if you're out there, if you're a healthcare worker or anyone, if you know someone or whatever you do, just remember, I mean, these pressures are real, but there are resources available. And just remember that

Going down this road is it's, you know, you may think that you have all the control in the world now and that you would never make some of these decisions. But once you let the chemicals take over, it's no longer you making those decisions. That's where, that's where we get these stories from. That's exactly where we get these stories from is from the minds of people who have been taken over by addiction. As for Danny Marie Schofield, her story is a cautionary tale.

That definitely reminds us of the immense responsibility that we hold as nurses and healthcare professionals.

So I have to tell you guys about an experience I had with a nursing student. So you know, I've been doing travel nursing. Well, this hospital where I'm at has a lot of LPN students doing their clinicals there. So one of them was following me around one day, and she noticed my stethoscope. And of course, y'all know the Echo Technology Company that sponsors our podcast, they teamed up with Littman to make the stethoscopes to beat all stethoscopes, the 3M Littman Core Digital Stethoscope. And this is the one that I use now. So she said, Oh my gosh, I've been wanting to try one of those. So of

So of course I let her use it and she just could not stop talking about it for the rest of the shift. It was so cute. She was like, you know, I can't hear anything with my normal stethoscope because I have tinnitus. And so she was so excited because she could actually hear what heart sounds were supposed to sound like. She said, I'm going to ask for one of these for graduation. And I was like, yeah, you definitely should. So just so you know,

The Echo technology that makes Testescope so amazing. You can enable it with a flip of a switch. You can turn it on and off. It has active noise cancellation up to 40 times amplification, wireless auscultation using Bluetooth technology. It connects with Echo's free app and software.

so that you can visualize, record, share, live stream, analyze heart sounds, lung sounds, and whatever body sounds you want to listen to. So you can go to echohealth.com and use the promo code GNBN to get $50 off your order. And that's echo is spelled E-K-O, by the way. So it's echohealth.com and use the GNBN promo code to get $50 off your order. Well, I guess that brings us to our Good Nurse segment.

I always enjoy this part. We get to end on a good note and talk about the good. After talking about some of the darker side of our profession, of the healthcare world, we get to kind of end on a good note and talk about some good things that people are doing. And this story is truly amazing. I'm so excited to get to tell you about this. So

This is the story of Leanne Sondrup, a nurse who went above and beyond to save a life when everything seemed to be against her. The story is powerful. It's a powerful reminder that being a nurse isn't just something that you leave necessarily at the hospital. It's a part of who you are.

Today, the story takes us out of the hospital and onto the highway in Arizona, where Leanne was driving home after a long stretch of night shifts. Despite being exhausted, she found herself at the scene of a major accident. And what she did next saved a man's life. It's July 26th, 2023, and Leanne Sondrup, a nurse at Fulbright,

Valley Wise Health has just finished her fourth consecutive night shift. Now, if you've worked night shifts before, you know that feeling, exhaustion taking over. All you want to do is get home and sleep. I can't imagine. I mean, I can't imagine. I've had times when I was driving home and I just thought, I have to just pull over for a second and just close my eyes because I was so tired. Even though I'm kind of a night owl, I like to stay up late.

I don't like to stay up all night. And when you get off work at seven o'clock in the morning after giving report, and then you're driving home and you got a 20, 30 minute drive. And who knows how long for, I know some people that drive like an hour. I don't even know how in the world, but this was Leanne situation that morning, you know, getting off work, feeling tired,

And driving down the road, she's driving down State Route 143 near Sky Harbor Airport, and something caught her attention. A cement truck had overturned, blocking part of the road. And this is, of course, where most people are going to kind of hesitate right here. I think I would. I think I would be really scared. Leanne might have been scared, but she didn't hesitate. She pulled her car over.

Assessing the situation in seconds, the driver was trapped inside the truck, bleeding heavily. Leanne knew there was no time to waste. Despite not having medical equipment with her, she improvised, using a bystander's belt as a tourniquet to stop the bleeding. And that quick thinking bought precious time until emergency services arrived.

Leanne's creativity and fast action made all the difference. She applied the belt tourniquet to control the bleeding, something every nurse knows could be the difference between life and death. She didn't leave after that. She stayed with him, keeping him calm and conscious until paramedics arrived on the scene. Once emergency responders took over, she was finally able to step back.

But her actions weren't forgotten. In October of 2023, the Phoenix Fire Department honored her with an award for her bravery and life-saving efforts. And the man she saved, he reached out to thank her personally for giving him a second chance at life. Leanne reflected on that day with a sense of humility. She said she felt like something guided her to be there at that exact moment.

It's one of those stories that gives you chills because it just feels like everything happens for a reason. She said, I genuinely feel that my guiding force led me to that very moment. I'm not without imperfections, but I feel that at that crucial, at that critical juncture, I received a guiding premonition.

Like I said, it just gives me chills. This story is such a powerful reminder that as nurses, we carry our training and instincts with us wherever we go. Even off duty, Leanne responded like a true professional. And she didn't have her usual tools or her team around her, but she had her knowledge and her will to help. And that was enough. And I'm sure that that man is very thankful that she was there.

And I do want to take a moment here to remind our listeners of something that we discussed in previous episodes, the importance of checking the scene for safety when responding to emergencies as healthcare professionals. Leanne's quick thinking saved a life, but she also made sure the scene was safe before intervening. You guys, I have done way too many stories, way too many stories on here about how

healthcare professionals who, because of who they are, the whole reason that they go into healthcare is because they want to help people. And they see a wreck on the road, on the interstate, and they pull over and they get out of their car and they walk up to try to help. And then they end up getting hit by a car themselves because they are trying to render aid to people who are in need.

So I am definitely not telling you not to stop. And I don't want you to think that I'm telling you to stop with this story. Because make no mistake, you are putting your life in danger if you make the decision to do something like this. You never know. You never know what could be going on with that vehicle, if it could explode, what's inside of it.

you don't even know who's inside to just be perfectly clear, perfectly honest. I mean, you really don't have any way of knowing the situation. And so I don't, I don't think just knowing healthcare professionals, I don't think we're going to see people stop doing this. And I know that if I was out there and one of my family members was out there, I would want people to stop and help me. And I would like to think that I would too.

If you're going to do that, please, please, please, please be careful. Check the scene. It takes seconds to look around, position yourself for safety before intervening because yes, we're wired to help, but it's crucial to ensure that we don't put ourselves in danger. Assess the situation, ensure it's safe before you step in. That's the first priority because you can't help others if you're putting yourself at risk yourself.

Her actions remind us that sometimes even in the most unexpected places, we're called to make a difference. As healthcare workers, whether we're in scrubs or straight clothes, our responsibility to care for others doesn't have an on-off switch. We're never really off duty. So that's it for today's episode. Thank you guys for listening. And if you want, you can look me up, send me an email. I'd love to hear from you guys. Tina at goodnursebadnurse.com. I'm on social media at goodnursebadnurse.

And our website is goodnursebadnurse.com. And before we leave, I always have to remind you, even if you're a bad girl or a bad boy, be a good nurse.