NEW HAVEN, Conn — A 49-year-old Oxford nurse pleaded guilty to tampering with fentanyl vials intended for patients at the Yale-New Haven Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility clinic (Yale REI clinic).
According to court documents and statements made in court, Donna Monticone worked at the Yale REI clinic and was responsible for ordering and inventorying narcotics used at the clinic like fentanyl.
The drug fentanyl is used by physicians during outpatient surgical procedures to anesthetize and protect patients from feeling pain.
The U.S. Attorney's office says Monticone began stealing the drug for her own use in June of 2020. She took fentanyl from the vials and then refilled the vial with saline.
The investigation showed about 75% of the fentanyl given to patients at the clinic had been altered with saline from June to October 2020. Some of the vials continued diluted fentanyl and others just contained saline.
Montincone admitted to the court she injected herself with the drug and then starting taking the vials home, where she would refill the vial with saline. She would then return them to the stock.
The US Attorney's Office said on November 1, 2020, Montincone brought back about 175 vials of fentanyl and threw them away in waste containers at the clinic.
Montincone could face up to a maximum of 10 years and prison and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 25. She has surrendered her nursing license.
CT attorney is representing a few of the woman impacted by this incident and released a statement:
"The families want to understand how this was allowed to happen. This is a preeminent hospital that is supposed to be responsible for the oversight of medication so we hope Yale will provide the answers these women deserve about not just how it happened but what Yale is going to do to make sure it doesn't happen to other women."
Download the FOX61 News APP
iTunes: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Stream Live on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching FOX61.