Nurse who manipulated fentanyl gets parole

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A nurse has been sentenced to years of probation and thousands of dollars in fines after pleading guilty to tampering with fentanyl at a Kalamazoo County hospital in 2020.

Alison Renee Marshall of Sturgis was sentenced to five years probation and a $5,000 fine on Wednesday, court documents said.

she pleaded guilty tampering with vials of liquid fentanyl at the hospital where she worked, knowing patients would be put at risk, according to court records. While July and August 2020, Marshall, a registered nurse, removed liquid fentanyl and replaced it with saline. According to court documents, it was noticed in August by another nurse who worked in the interventional radiology department.

The hospital staff pharmacist conducted an investigation and found that several fentanyl vials had the caps taped back on. FDA lab tests showed the vials were diluted, containing only 3% or less of the drug, court documents said.

Marshall admitted to both hospital staff and in federal court that she was taking the fentanyl for her own use and knew that patients would be given the diluted fentanyl, according to court documents.

“When asked if she had considered the impact on patients, the defendant stated that she was thinking of the patients and hoping that the patients would receive the real drugs and that their saline would be wasted,” reads in the agreement.