A nursing aide is facing criminal charges after she was found to be stealing pain medication from a 96-year-old resident who has been living at the Brookdale Eddy Pond East Senior Living Facility in Auburn, Mass.
The aide, 46-year-old Amanda Peloquin of Oxford, was arrested on Friday for stealing the medication. She was charged with two counts of larceny of drugs and larceny from a building.
Friday's arrest came as the result of an investigation which was launched last month after the patient's son reported that his mother's pain medicine had gone missing and was replaced with aspirin. Police followed up on that report, and after an investigation, they issued a warrant for Peloquin's arrest.
Speaking to the media, Auburn Police Detective Sgt. R. Scott Mills noted that Peloquin had been working at the elderly home for more than six years and may have very wll been stealing the medication since early 2014. He went on to note that this case is just a highlight of America's growing opioid abuse problem.
"This case highlights the pervasiveness of the continuing opioid abuse problem currently facing our society," Mills said, "and the importance of remaining constantly watchful and involved over the care of our elder family members."
His statement made no mention of what Peloquin could have been doing with the stolen medication. If she hadn't been using it herself, then it's more than likely she had been selling them for a profit.
Brookdale Senior Living also issued a statement following the arrest, saying: "The safety and well-being of our residents are our highest priorities and we do not tolerate any improper conduct by our associates. We have been working closely with the local authorities and the appropriate state agencies on an investigation of possible medication theft. We are disappointed to learn it appears that an associate at our community may have been involved in the theft. Appropriate corrective action has been taken. We will continue to assist the authorities in this matter until the investigation is concluded."
Opioid abuse has been a growing problem in the U.S. as of late, so much so that the Obama administration asked for $1.1 billion in funding to deal with the matter before it gets worse. This isn't the first time Massachusets has made headlines due to the opioid epidemic either. Two weeks ago, one man admitted himself to a Salem hospital complaining of food poisoning. However, medical staff determined that his symptoms were consistent with opioid intoxication and gave him medication which he responded well to. He soon admitted that he had ingested several bags of heroin, and the resulting operation revealed that he had 27 bags of the opioid in his system, prompting police to slap him with drug trafficking charges.
In the meantime, it isn't clear if Peloquin has a lawyer, but she will be arraigned on Wednesday, April 6.
