The Associated Press
LYNCHBURG, Va. — Federal drug investigators are working to find out what happened to hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of prescription medications in the Lynchburg area.
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents served a warrant at the Lynchburg General Hospital pharmacy Wednesday.
Special agent in charge Gregory Cherundolo tells The News & Advance that the warrant is related to an investigation of possible prescription drug thefts. He says thousands of pages of records for the last two years were copied.
Cherundolo didn’t provide specifics about the investigation. But he says it includes thefts from ambulance drug boxes.
No charges have been filed.
A spokeswoman for Centra Health, which owns the hospital pharmacy, told the newspaper that she wasn’t aware of the warrant.
Here is a a statement from Centra:
“As a result of the diligence of our Centra pharmacy team, tampered vials of controlled substances were removed from the Blue Ridge EMS ambulance boxes during the summer of 2013. The Centra pharmacy inspects and refills the drug boxes found on local ambulances. After uncovering this tampering, Centra had 9 vials of fentanyl tested which did test positive for tampering. We promptly destroyed an additional 91 vials of the medication as a safety precaution, which was inaccurately reported by the News and Advance as stolen. Subsequently, Centra was involved in the decision to remove fentanyl from the drug boxes found on all ambulances in the region. We disclosed the tampering to the DEA and the Board of Pharmacy in a timely manner. Centra continues to inspect these drug boxes and have modified our internal and external processes to ensure the safety of medication usage.”
TAMPERINGS PROMPT CHANGES AT RESCUE AGENCIES
In light of the recent tampering, Lynchburg-area rescue agencies are taking extra precautions to keep their medication safe.
“What that did is cause us to review the measures we take, as far as monitoring and securing our boxes,” said Louis Pettigrew, president of the Concord Volunteer Rescue Squad.
Pettigrew’s agency wasn’t connected to the tampering, but the proximity to other effected squads prompted Concord volunteers to beef up security at their crew hall.
“You can’t stop someone who is determined, but you can take steps to discourage them,” Pettigrew said.
The entire rescue squad is now under constant surveillance, with multiple cameras around the property. Drug boxes are locked inside a safe, which is protected by a combination.
“They are always under scrutiny by either a camera or in the care of an individual,” said Pettigrew.
Anytime a first responder has to access the drug box, it then has to be checked by a technician at the Lynchburg General Hospital pharmacy.
Last summer the pharmacy discovered nine viles of Fentanyl, housed on Lynchburg-area ambulances, had been altered. Since then the drug has been replaced with morphine on every ambulance in the region.
Rescue agencies like the one in Concord are now on high alert and keeping an even closer eye on their medications.
“We’re doing everything in our power to ensure that everything is taken care of and being done according to the rules,” said Pettigrew.