A former emergency medical technician at Exeter Hospital in New Hampshire was sentenced to more than 3 years probation for taking fentanyl from the hospital. The incident occurred at the same facility where another medical technician infected more than 30 patients with Hepatitis C while also taking drugs.
Peter McGlynn, 46, of Raymond, New Hampshire, was sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court in Concord to 42 months of probation for obtaining a controlled substance by fraud. He pleaded guilty to the charge on May 22, admitting that on Jan. 16, 2013, while working as an EMT at Exeter Hospital, he volunteered to administer fentanyl, a powerful opiate, to a patient who was being treated in the hospital's Emergency Department. Although he obtained 100 micrograms of fentanyl and claimed to administer the drug to a patient, the patient did not obtain any pain relief. A nurse suspected that the drug had not been provided to the patient, and a drug test performed on McGlynn detected fentanyl in his system.
Exeter Hospital is the same hospital where a technician also accused of taking fentanyl infected dozens of patients with Hepatitis C. David Kwiatkowski was sentenced to 39 years in prison for injecting himself with drugs and then re-using those needles on patients.
Thirty-two patients in New Hampshire were diagnosed with the same strain of Hepatitis C that Kwiatkowski carries. Kwiatkowski also faced similar charges in several other states.
The U.S. Attorney's Office said the investigation of McGlynn did not reveal any evidence that he had infected patients or exposed them to any disease.
"My office remains committed to stopping drug diversion by health care workers," U.S. Attorney John Kacavas said in a statement. "The Kwiatkowski case demonstrated that health care workers who divert or tamper with drugs can jeopardize the health and safety of their patients. Not only do drug diversion and tampering create the potential for patients to become infected with deseases, but it also can cause patients to experience unnecessary pain."
The investigation that led to McGlynn's arrest involved the FBI, the Exeter Police Department and the New Hampshire Attorney General's Office.
