Nov 19, 2009 10:30 pm US/Mountain
Addicted Nurses: Many On The Job, Few Seek Help
Written by Brian Maass
DENVER (CBS4) ―
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CBS4 Investigator Brian Maass interviews a nurse who asked that her identity be protected.
CBS
It's not a comforting thought for hospital patients or their families: Nursing experts in Colorado say there are likely thousands of nurses with addiction and substance abuse problems still going to work every day at Colorado health care facilities.
"There are people out there who need help who are not receiving treatment," said Rebecca Heck, program director of the state sponsored program set up to assist nurses struggling with substance abuse problems. Her program, the Nursing Peer Health Assistance Program, currently has about 300 nurses enrolled.
The program has treated about 500 nursing professionals in the last 15 months. Nurses are in the program because they have an addiction or substance abuse problem. They are closely monitored, undergo regular screenings for drugs and alcohol and are in therapy -- all with the idea of keeping the public safe and rehabilitating the nurses so they can resume their careers.
But Heck acknowledges with 107,450 licensed nursing professionals in Colorado, there are likely thousands more secretly taking their addictions to work.
Heck said it's generally accepted that 10 percent of the general population, and the nursing population, suffers from addiction or substance abuse. That would suggest thousands more nursing professionals who are still licensed, grappling with addiction issues.
"There are nursing colleagues out there who are not in treatment," said Heck.
The consequences can be staggering, as evidenced by the case of surgical technician Kristen Parker. She is the former Rose Medical Center worker who will be sentenced next month for pilfering drugs at work, then infecting patients with Hepatitis C.
(
Denver Sheriff's Dept./AP)
Licensed nurse Donna Strickland believes there are many more Kristen Parkers out there.
"I think that there are quite a few more," said Strickland. "There are addicts walking around the hospital who are going to do what addicts do: take drugs. Not because they are bad but because they are sick."
Strickland, 53, speaks from firsthand experience. She is a recovering addict who confesses to going to work impaired and stealing patients medication.
She was a nurse at Denver General Hospital (now Denver Health Medical Center) during the mid 1980s who worked in critical care and surgical intensive care.
During the last 2 1/2 years that she worked at the Denver hospital she was regularly using cocaine at work, spending about $250,000 on the drug during that time period.
"I used it not to feel. Addicts use because that's what addicts do," said Strickland. She said she went to work under the influence of cocaine or alcohol "pretty much every day.
"I had to have missed a lot of things, some important things," recalled Strickland. She now works as a speaker and consultant on health care issues.
"I would take Inderal from my patients to slow and stengthen my heartbeat," said Strickland, explaining how she stole patient medications to counteract her drug dependency. "They wouldn't get their medication. It makes me feel bad and humiliated and embarrassed and regretful."
Strickland, too, believes there are thousands more Colorado nurses with problems similar to hers. She suspects they are not getting help because they are ashamed and frightened of losing their livelihood or in denial.
"You've got a lot of nurses who have this disease. People don't want to believe that. There's a lot of denial about it," said Strickland. She estimates only 2 to 3 percent of those who need help find their way into a peer assistance program.
Strickland said there is plenty of work to do to lessen the stigma for addicted nurses and coax more into treatment.
"Hospitals need to step up," she said. "It's a leadership issue."
Colorado hospitals appear to recognize that. Steven Summer, President of the Colorado Hospital Association, said the Parker case has made the issue of addicted health care workers a top priority.
"It focused our attention on the issue of drug diversion more than it was," said Summer. He said the case prompted the CHA's 92-member hospitals to form a task force to try to prevent more cases of drug diversion.
"Clearly we need to improve what we're doing," said Summer.
He said the task force is looking into better communication among hospitals and regulatory and licensing boards, better technology and additional education for hospital workers to help identify other employees who might be addicted or diverting drugs.
As for Donna Strickland, she hopes the Parker case "turns out to be a blessing to the health care system in Colorado because she brings us all to our knees."
Additional Resources
If you are a nurse with addiction or substance abuse issues, or a colleague or family or friend and know a nurse who might need help, call
Peer Assistance Services anonymously at 1.866.369.0039.
(© MMX CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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