NBC6’s Heather Walker is live from Westchester where a nurse was caught stealing fentanyl from a hospital.
A registered nurse is facing several charges after he reportedly stole Fentanyl from HCA Florida Kendall Hospital.
Emmanuel Valentin, 38, allegedly took the drugs out of the vials before refilling them with a saline solution.
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WATCH HEREAccording to the arrest report, hospital staff noticed that Valentin used his unique passcode to access a secure narcotics storage area.
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He was also caught on surveillance video, when security observed him removing vials of Fentanyl and leaving the secured area -- before returning and placing the items back into storage.
Security officers reported that Valentin stole at least 20 vials between August 16th and 17th, and entered comments that the medication was being used for patients -- even when he did not have any patients assigned to him, the arrest report continued.
Valentin was later taken into Miami-Dade police custody. He is facing multiple charges including third-degree grand theft and tampering with consumer products, arrest records show.
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In bond court, a Miami-Dade judge said Valentin is not allowed to work with direct patient care and ordered him to stay away from the hospital.
HCA Florida Kendall Hospital released a statement Monday, saying "We are aware of the serious allegations. HCA Florida Kendall Hospital has safeguards in place to ensure medications are administered and accounted for properly. These safeguards led to the discovery of some discrepancies, and we notified police and are assisting with their investigation.”
Valentin has since bonded out.
