Police say ER nurse stole drugs

Former Oneida Healthcare employee accused of stealing prescription drugs while working

A Canastota man was arrested after an investigation revealed he stole prescription drugs from Oneida Healthcare while working there, police said.

Louis V. Varre II, 37, of State Street in Canastota, was charged Wednesday with seventh- degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, first- degree falsifying business records, a class E felony; and prohibited acts under the public health law.

Oneida City Police report that while working as a registered nurse in the emergency department at Oneida Healthcare, Varre removed a schedule II controlled substance and made false entries in hospital records to cover it up.

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, drugs that typically fall in the scheduled II category include methadone, oxycodone and codeine.

Information regarding which drugs or how much Varre allegedly stole was not available.

Jay Kohlbrenner, vice president of clinical services at Oneida Healthcare, said the Pharmacy Department closely monitors all medicines.

As soon as a discrepancy was noticed last week, the hospital immediately called the state Department of Health, she said.

After an investigation, the state Department of Health Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement found evidence of pharmacy tampering, and then asked Oneida City Police for help

with the arrest.

Varre was issued a ticket to appear in Oneida City Court on Feb. 22.

“It happened that quickly,” Kohlbrenner said, adding that there has not been any evidence to suggest inadequate patient care on Varre’s part. The state Department of Health investigation is ongoing. Varre is currently suspended without pay from Oneida Healthcare. He started working at the hospital in October 2012, officials said.

“There are checks and balances” to make sure these types of incidents don’t happen, Kohlbrenner said.

“Those processes worked,” she said. “The moment we saw something, we acted.”