A Pennsylvania nurse has been charged with administering lethal doses of insulin to two patients, the state attorney general said.
Heather Eileen Pressdee, 40, of Natrona Heights, said a Pennsylvania judiciary was accused of giving a patient an “insulin overdose” by a registered nurse at Chicora’s skilled nursing home Quality Life Services. announced by the Office of the Secretary. news release.
According to the criminal complaint, she was employed at the facility from May 23, 2022 to November 28, 2022.
One patient died on December 4 and the other died on December 25, the office said. He was 55 and 83 years old.
A third patient, a 73-year-old man, was given an unhealthy amount of insulin on August 31, 2022, but survived after emergency hospitalization, officials said.
Two of the three patients were nondiabetic. Their names have not been released.
Pressedy was arrested Wednesday at his home on charges of murder, attempted murder, aggravated assault, neglect and reckless endangerment, according to the State AG.
She was arraigned Wednesday night and is being held without bail at the Butler County Jail. It is not clear whether she has hired a lawyer.
Attorney General Michelle Henry Said The nurse was supposed to care for the patient, but “intentionally and maliciously injected insulin to kill the patient.”
“The allegations in this case outline the ruthless abuse of incredibly vulnerable patients by professional nurses,” Henry said in a statement. “As the allegations show, these were deliberate and deliberate acts committed by caregivers who were trusted to care for the victims.”
Quality Life Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.
Authorities launched an investigation after a relative of the victim filed a complaint alleging that a nurse was involved in improperly administering insulin to her patients, according to the criminal complaint. All three victims were rushed to the hospital for hypoglycemia shortly after Presdee’s shift.
One of the deceased patients was non-verbal and he turned out to be JB, according to the complaint. He said he was taken to hospital in October 2022, where the medical team determined he had severe hypoglycemia. He was treated and returned to the facility.
On November 20, 2022, JB was hospitalized again for hypoglycemia and died two weeks later. The complaint alleges that a nurse at the facility told authorities that Presdee allegedly said JB “would be better off dead.”
The other deceased victim was identified as JC, a hospice patient and JB’s roommate, according to the complaint, who was rushed to the hospital 10 minutes after JB was admitted to the hospital in November. JC’s family chose to return him to an institution, where he died on Christmas Day, according to the complaint.
A third victim, identified as EA, was found having a seizure in bed shortly after receiving care from Pressdee, the complaint says. He was taken to hospital and sent to another facility.
According to the complaint, Pressdee told investigators that EA had been quarantined with COVID-19 and had been asked to “kill him.” She allegedly took insulin out of her medication cart and put one of her syringes into her stomach.
“She said he started showing symptoms but the next shift sent him to the hospital because she didn’t address his symptoms,” it reads.
When asked about the other two victims, Presdee said the quality of life was not good, according to the lawsuit. She is suspected of injecting everyone with 60 units of short-acting insulin.
The lawsuit alleges that Mr. Presdee was “disciplined for abusive behavior towards patients and staff” at several other facilities and either resigned or was fired.
This article was originally published NBC News.com
