Bellingham pharmacy tech suspended for diverting drugs

A pharmacy technician for PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center has had her credentials suspended after she admitted stealing prescription medications for her own use, according to state officials.

On Aug. 20 Hazel Devitt was caught on a pharmacy security camera removing drugs from the drawer of a medication dispenser and putting them in her pocket, according to the state Department of Health. When she was drug tested Sept. 4 she had benzodiazepines, methadone and oxycodone in her system, according to the department’s charges against her.

She admitted to a state Pharmacy Commission investigator that she had diverted the drugs and that “she was not safe, and patients weren’t safe,” according to the charges. She had been removing the drugs from at least early April on, the charges state.

The commission suspended her credential Dec. 28 pending further disciplinary proceedings. Devitt has had that credential since 2000 and began working at St. Joseph’s in 2009.

Debbie Townsend

This story was originally published January 2, 2016 at 5:45 AM with the headline "Bellingham pharmacy tech suspended for diverting drugs."