Police in Minneapolis have arrested a nurse who allegedly injected herself with fentanyl destined for a surgical patient who ended up screaming throughout a procedure to have his kidney stones removed.
On the way in to surgery in November 2010 at Abbott Northwestern Hospital, Sarah May Casareto, RN, allegedly told the 56-year-old male patient: "You're going to have to 'man up' here and take some of the pain, because we can't give you a lot of medication," according to a Fox News report. During the procedure the OR team had to hold the screaming and moaning patient down. Sometime during the ordeal, Ms. Casareto, 33, reportedly told the patient: "Go to your beach. Go to your happy place."
In the OR, Ms. Casareto was "visibly drugged," had red eyes, talked loudly and was making grand gestures, her colleagues told police, according to the news report. For the patient, Ms. Casareto checked out 500 mcg of fentanyl but gave the patient only 150 mcg. She said she wasted 300 mcg and couldn't account for the last 50 mcg.
At the end of the procedure, Ms. Casareto had 2 unlabeled syringes in her pocket, 1 of which she emptied and threw into the regular trash, not the sharps container.
Ms. Casareto, who no longer works at the hospital, was arrested on Wednesday. She faces charges of theft of a controlled substance, according to the news report. Abbot Northwestern Hospital issued a statement saying "Due to confidentiality we cannot discuss current or former employees. She no longer works at Abbot Northwestern Hospital. Patient safety is our primary concern."
Kent Steinriede
Pictured: Sarah May Casareto, RN
