JACKSONVILLE, FL – Katherine Jee Rankin, 30, pleaded guilty today to tampering with injectable hydromorphone, facing a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison, announced United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg.
Rankin was a registered nurse employed at a Jacksonville surgical center. She was terminated on October 13, 2022, after a supervisor discovered that she had forged an anesthesia record. Surveillance footage captured Rankin removing vials from a controlled substances cabinet after her termination but while still in the building. She later confessed to three employees that she had been stealing drugs from the facility due to an addiction.
Laboratory tests confirmed that the four vials Rankin turned over had been tampered with both physically and chemically. Caps had been removed and glued back on, and the hydromorphone in each vial had been significantly diluted.
Review of patient records showed several irregularities, including instances where 200 ml of hydromorphone was allegedly administered to patients—a dosage that is unusually high. The records often appeared altered, with a “2” written over the “1,” and there were multiple instances of post-operative administration of the drug, indicating falsification to cover Rankin’s theft.
Rankin, as a healthcare professional, was aware that her actions jeopardized patient safety.