9 Patients Reported Dead in Oregon After Nurse Allegedly Injected Them With Tap Water Instead of Medication
Police in Medford, Oregon, are investigating a nurse at Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center after several patients died after the nurse allegedly ejected them with tap water instead of their prescribed medication.
NBC affiliate KGW 8 News reported that a nurse assigned to the ICU at Asante Rogue Reginal Medical Center replaced a patient’s fentanyl medication with tap water, which resulted in several patients dying from deadly infections.
Hospital sources told KOBI 5, “Tap water, which isn’t sterile, led to multiple infections of Pseudomonas.”
Dr. Robin Miller, who hosts KOBI’s Docs on Call series, shared, “It could cause sepsis, pneumonia. It could infect all the organs. So it can be a very severe infection.”
Complex reported that 9 to 10 patients were injected with tap water and later died.
Several Patients Dead After Nurse Reportedly Injected Them With Tap Water Instead of Fentanyl https://t.co/KUndkiBwRn
— Complex (@Complex) January 1, 2024
Per Complex:
Several patients at the Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center died after a nurse allegedly injected them with tap water instead of their proper medication.
According to NBC5 News, police were investigating at least one patient’s death at the medical center, and sources told them there were even more who died as a result of infections caused by faulty injections. Sources stated a nurse had injected patients with tap water to cover up the hospital’s misuse of pain medication, including fentanyl.
The Medical Center’s intensive care unit reported that up to nine or ten people caught infections and later died. The tap water that was used in the injections was reportedly not sterile and led to multiple infections of pseudomonas, which can be very dangerous to those with weak immune systems.
“It could cause sepsis, pneumonia, it could infect all the organs, so it could be a very severe infection,” said Dr. Robin Miller. The Asante Rogue Medical Center released a statement saying, “We were distressed to learn of this issue. We reported it to law enforcement and are working closely with them.”
The Rogue Valley Times reports families in Grants Pass and Klamath Falls were notified of the deaths of their family members from an infection caused by a nurse replacing fentanyl with non-sterile tap water.https://t.co/abfGAAKmYV
— KATU News (@KATUNews) January 2, 2024
In a comment to NBC 5 News, Asante stated, “We were distressed to learn of this issue. We reported it to law enforcement and are working closely with them.”
As of now, police are still investigating the deaths at the hospital, and no one has been charged with a crime.
