State suspends Whatcom County nurse over medication records, including for narcotics
The state Department of Health has suspended the credential of a licensed practical nurse after hundreds of alleged irregularities surfaced during an audit of medication and narcotics records, the agency has announced.
The accusations against Trisha Marie Whetter of Whatcom County focus on the three months she worked at a rehabilitation facility in Bellingham, from April to June 2019, according to state documents.
Her job included dispensing, administering and disposing of controlled medications prescribed to the facility’s residents.
The records document the date, time and amounts of narcotic medication given to residents.
An audit allegedly showed that “Whetter had made more than 200 incorrect, missing, or inaccurate entries in about three months,” the state said.
The entries were for medication that included Percocet, fentanyl, oxycodone, methadone and hydromorphone, according to state documents.
Whetter’s credential expired in August 2019, before the state suspended it indefinitely. To get it back, she will have to meet a number of conditions that include continuing education in ethics and documentation.
Location of the rehabilitation facility was corrected on Dec. 3, 2020.
This story was originally published December 2, 2020 at 1:05 PM.
