Okla. ambulance service focus of drug query
By Ann Kelley
The Oklahoman
SEMINOLE, Okla. — Law enforcement officials are investigating allegations that narcotics are missing from Medicus, the cityowned ambulance service.
An agent from the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control opened an investigation Tuesday after receiving a tip about possible misuse of drugs, spokesman Mark Woodward said.
Woodward said he couldn't comment further because the investigation was new and interviews with members of the ambulance company are ongoing.
Sources told The Oklahoman an inventory of Medicus drugs recently showed an unknown amount of Demerol and other drugs were unaccounted for.
A narcotics bureau agent will meet with Medicus employees and city officials this morning in Seminole.
Dr. Chayne Fisher, Seminole mayor and medical director for Medicus, declined comment. Calls to Medicus director Josh Hair were not returned.
City Manager Steve Saxon said he and Police Chief Ed Smith called state drug agents to investigate, but would not comment further.
He said the city has owned an ambulance service since the 1970s. It operates on a $1.2 million budget and was given a $400,000 subsidy by the city this year.
Shawn Rogers, state Health Department medical services director with the emergency systems unit, said he received a complaint Tuesday about Medicus' storage of drugs, but declined to elaborate.
Rogers said the state Health Department will conduct its own investigation.
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