Post date:
July 27 2015
A.G. Schneiderman Announces Arrest Of Nurse For Allegedly Falsifying Patient Records To Cover Up His Neglect
Licensed Practical Nurse Shawn Clark Allegedly Failed To Provide Nursing Home Residents Proper Medication In Order To Leave Work Early
Schneiderman: Those Who Place Their Own Interests Above Those Of Their Patients Can Cause Serious Harm To People Who Are Dependent On Them
QUEENSBURY – Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced the arrest and arraignment of Shawn Clark, a Licensed Practical Nurse (L.P.N.), on charges that he falsely documented the medical records of several residents at The Stanton Nursing and Rehabilitation Centre in order to cover up his failure to properly provide narcotics to residents.
The felony complaint alleges that on December 3, 2014, Clark falsified the medication records of five nursing home residents by documenting that he administered narcotics when instead he deliberately sought to dispose of the drugs so he could leave his shift early. Clark allegedly left the facility before the end of his shift and realized later that he actually left the narcotics in his medication cart in a single medication cup. In response, Clark allegedly contacted the facility and spoke with the on-coming L.P.N. and asked her to discard the narcotics so he would avoid getting a medication error. The on-coming L.P.N. discovered several narcotics in Clark’s medication cart that should have been administered to residents but were not.
“Medical professionals in a nursing home are entrusted with providing proper assistance to persons unable to care for themselves,” Attorney General Schneiderman said. “Those who place their own interests above those of their patients can cause serious harm to people who are dependent on them. My office will continue to prosecute medical professionals who try to cover up their own neglect.”
The investigation revealed that Clark allegedly electronically signed the Medication Administration Records of the residents indicating that he administered narcotics including Oxycontin, Hydrocodone, Xanax, and Ativan. It is also alleged that Clark signed the Controlled Substance Records for the same residents documenting that he removed the scheduled doses for residents when, in fact, none had been provided.
Clark, 29, of Hudson Falls, was arraigned before Honorable Robert McNally in Queensbury Town Court on five counts of Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree, a class E Felony, and five counts of Wilful Violation of Health Laws, an unclassified Misdemeanor.
The charges against the defendant are accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The investigation was led by Investigator John Benshoff of Albany’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit with the assistance of Supervising Investigator Dianne Tuffey and Medical Analyst Stephanie Keyser, the Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement and Deputy Chief William Falk. Special Assistant Attorney General Erin Lynch of the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit’s Albany Regional Office is prosecuting the case with Regional MFCU Director Kathleen Boland. Catherine Wagner is MFCU's Upstate Chief of Criminal Investigations. Amy Held is the Acting Director of the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and Kelly Donovan is the Executive Deputy Attorney General for Criminal Justice.