Colorado hospital worker sent to prison for stealing more than 100 patient pain med prescriptions
A Colorado hospital employee was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison last week after pleading guilty to allegations she substituted pain medications prescribed to patients with over-the-counter drugs in order to feed her own addiction.
Security and staff at Saint Joseph's Hospital stopped Shelbi Wolken on July 1, 2024, after she picked up a patient's prescription for oxycodone at the hospital's pharmacy and walked into a nearby bathroom, according to a case document.
At the time, Wolken was a case management coordinator for the Saint Joseph's, a facility operated by Intermountain Health, a regional, Salt Lake City-based, non-profit hospital chain. A case manager serves as a liaison between patients and the physicians, and often arranges services for patients upon their release from the hospital.
Hospital officials reportedly found an allergy medicine inside the patient's prescription bottle, not the prescribed oxycodone, after Wolken exited the bathroom and returned the bottle for the patient to pick up, according to the case document.
Records showed Wolken purchased the allergy pills earlier in the day at the same pharmacy.
When hospital officials interviewed Wolken, she admitted to using her badge and position to gain access to at least 10 prescriptions, according to the case document, while working at Saint Joseph's in Denver, Lutheran Hospital in Wheat Ridge, and Good Samaritan in Lafayette. All are in the Intermountain Health system.
Later, Wolken confessed to swapping more medications when federal investigators interviewed her at her home.
In all, investigators determined Wolken picked up approximately 139 prescriptions for approximately 127 patients over eight months.
Some of those patients told investigators they suffered no ill effects. But others reported feeling significant to severe pain and being unable to sleep, including two women who had given birth by cesarian section, per the court document. A third woman who underwent a different procedure described the pain caused by the inadequate medication as "agony." Yet another patient who suffered from internal bleeding and was already on blood thinners told investigators the prescription she was given "almost killed her," as stated in the case document.
At her home, Wolken admitted to the Food and Drug Administration and Drug Enforcement Administration investigators that she had an opioid addiction and was conscious of the risks she exposed patients to -- including injury or death.
"This kind of conduct violates federal law, causes patient suffering, and puts people who are already facing medical challenges at risk," United States Attorney for the District of Colorado Peter McNeilly stated in a press release announcing Wolken's penalty. "I hope this sentence sends a message to others who consider feeding their addictions by stealing prescribed medications from patients."
Wolken pleaded guilty in March to a single count of tampering with a consumer product. She faced a maximum sentence of 10 years behind bars. But, before the sentencing hearing, federal prosecutors filed a motion to reduce the sentence level. They claimed Wolken had cooperated with the investigation and took responsibility for her actions.
A spokesperson for Intermountain Health had no statement on the sentencing, other than to confirm that Wolken was no longer employed there.
Intermountain Health operates 33 hospitals (including a virtual facility) and more than 400 medical clinics in Utah, Idaho, Nevada, Colorado, Montana, Wyoming. It was founded by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the late 1800's and merged with a Catholic-driven non-profit healthcare system, SCL Health, in 2022. Intermountain Health now employs more than 60,000 people.
