News Release - Registered Nurse Arrested for Using Hospice Job to Obtain Narcotics

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Attorney General Bill McCollum News Release

October 9, 2007

en Español

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Media Contact: Sandi Copes
Phone: (850) 245-0150

Registered Nurse Arrested for Using Hospice Job to Obtain Narcotics

~ Woman accused of unlawfully obtaining narcotics and committing Medicaid fraud ~

TALLAHASSEE, FL – Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced that a Gadsden County woman was arrested on charges that she misused her job at Big Bend Hospice of Gadsden County to fraudulently obtain controlled substances including Ambien and hydrocodone. Donna Cain Gatch was arrested by investigators with the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and deputies with the Gadsden County Sheriff’s Office after an investigation revealed that she was using her position as a registered nurse to phone in fraudulent prescriptions and causing Big Bend Hospice to be billed.

“Anyone who would abuse her position as a caretaker to obtain illegal drugs deserves the full force of our investigative and prosecutorial efforts,” said Attorney General McCollum.

Investigators with the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit believe Gatch, 56, obtained more than 50 unauthorized prescriptions for controlled substances by using her patients’ names, three of whom were Medicaid recipients. After phoning in the prescriptions, Gatch would then pick up the prescriptions herself and let the pharmacies charge Big Bend Hospice for the cost of the prescriptions. Investigators were able to confirm that no patients of Big Bend Hospice failed to receive medications that were prescribed for them.

The case was investigated by the Diversion Response Team, a task force of agencies formed to combat the illegal trade in pharmaceutical drugs. Participating agencies include the Attorney General’s Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), the Florida Department of Health, and the U. S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

“We’ll continue to work aggressively and cooperatively to investigate these cases,” said FDLE Commissioner Gerald Bailey.

Gatch was charged with 53 counts of obtaining controlled substances by fraud and one count of Medicaid fraud. All charges are third-degree felonies and if convicted on all charges, Gatch could receive up to 270 years in prison and $270,000 in fines. The case will be prosecuted by the State Attorney for the Second Judicial Circuit.