TX Paramedic didn't know it was wrong to steal fetanyl...

[akflightmedic]

Yes he administered/took it 237 times, but it was for his sick wife and he did NOT know it was wrong.

Pretty amazing I think.

Blanco EMS director says drugs were for ailing wife - Texas

The director of the nonprofit Blanco Volunteer Ambulance Corps said at a public meeting in February that he brought his wife the potent narcotic painkiller Fentanyl from the corps' inventory about 237 times over 15 months for her migraine headaches.

At the meeting of ambulance corps members and Blanco County residents last month, corps Director Mark McMain said he didn't believe that he had done anything wrong, said David Hotz, a member of the ambulance corps' board of directors who is serving as the corps' spokesman. Each time they administer controlled substances to patients, the corps' emergency medical workers must fill out a form, and McMain did so, Hotz said.

"He didn't understand that what he was doing was wrong," Hotz said of McMain's actions. "He does now."

McMain will meet with state officials on Wednesday in an informal conference on his license suspension. McMain's lawyer, Nelson Skinner of San Antonio, declined to comment on the case.

Court and state records don't say how much of the drug McMain is accused of taking. EMS services usually purchase Fentanyl in 150 microgram vials, which cost about $2 each. McMain, 47, faces a criminal investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and an emergency suspension of his paramedic license by the Texas Department of State Health Services. State officials declined to say whether McMain had been or would be asked to take a drug test, citing the ongoing investigation.

The state health department also intends to revoke the license of the Blanco Volunteer Ambulance Corps, which provides emergency medical services to the southern half of Blanco County, and the license of corps paramedic Evelyn "Suzy" Armstead, who is accused of co-signing the narcotic control forms McMain filled out.

Administering narcotics without direction from a doctor violates state and federal laws. And an EMS medical director, the doctor who oversees how emergency workers administer drugs and care for patients, could be expected to question a paramedic giving a family member drugs nearly every other day without direction, said Dr. Steven Ellerbe, a member of the Governor's EMS and Trauma Advisory Council.

"I believe that if one of my medics was making a routine response (to a relative's home and administering narcotics), I would have thought that that would have flagged my attention," Ellerbe said.

Ellerbe, who serves as medical director for four emergency medical services, said he reviews each service's log of controlled substance usage when he reorders narcotics, or he reviews each "run report" during which a controlled substance is used.

Dr. Larry Miller, the medical director for the Blanco ambulance service and four other emergency medical services, did not return a call seeking comment Monday. But Miller told the Blanco County News that the state health department asked him to audit the corps' morphine and Fentanyl supplies in January. Though Miller's audit accounted for all the corps' Fentanyl, Hotz said McMain did not bill his wife for the Fentanyl.

According to the DEA, the percentage of state and local drug cases involving Fentanyl have increased significantly over the past seven years, rising from 37 in 2001 to 1,412 cases in 2008.

Thomas Hinojosa, assistant special agent in charge for the DEA's San Antonio office, declined to comment on the McMain investigation but said that people involved in situations where "larger quantities of drugs are involved" can be charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute; penalties range from 180 days to life in jail.

[Ridryder 911]

Wow! Duh.. I didn't know administering and stealing a narcotic was wrong? Although, I doubt he was a smart man, but c'mon ... I would at least attempt to think of another excuse!

R/r 911

[spenac]

Another black mark. Sadly also goes to prove how little education we have based on his statements.

[paramedicmike]

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What a moron.

What's amazing is that this seems almost too dumb. I mean, how stupid can he be? To not know it was wrong to steal it? I wonder how many other stolen items from his squad can be found in his possession...

-be safe

[EMS49393]

Well, all I can say is "this bites." I've been researching and lobbying for fentanyl in our service since I came to work here. My previous service carried fentanyl and it was my narcotic analgesic of choice in a lot if cases. I particularly loved it for my elderly ladies with hip fractures, or anyone that had an obvious fracture that was going to hurt like hell when we moved them. I love that it's short acting, doesn't create the hypotension morphine sometimes does, and wears off quickly. I could make an 80 year old lady very comfortable with as little as 20 mcg.

I wish I could say "how can a paramedic be so stupid?" I just can't, because I know first hand of a medic that refused to use fentanyl because they didn't know what it was and they weren't comfortable administering the drug. I can't fault a provider for being cautious. I can, and did, fault him for not taking any initiative to research the medication. If something is on your truck, you are responsible for understanding it, period.

I say again, we just do not have enough education. We also do not have enough pre-testing to try and cut down on some of these yahoos becoming paramedics.

Disgraceful.

[mailmantech82]

How did this guy become a Paramedic? I'm currently in a Paramedic program and from day one we were taught the legal/ethical principles of EMS and the medications/treatments carried...

I just don't understand this...how can you not know it's wrong?

[Asysin2leads]

Mailman, in industry terms, we say this guy is full of Spitzer. There is no way you can be a practicing paramedic and not know lifting fentanyl is a big no no.

In fact, another industry term that can be applied is "junkie lies". This means not only is someone telling a lie, but they are so desperate, due to the power of addiction, that they will say anything except the truth. Junkies, generally speaking, will not tell the truth. They will say ANYTHING except "I was using drugs to get high because I am addicted."

Example: I responded once for a woman passed out on the floor with pinpoint pupils, a syringe in one hand, and a lighter and spoon in the other. After some Narcan she came around. She then proceeded to tell me she didn't do drugs. After I stated I had some doubts about her story, she said, okay, she does do drugs, but only snorts it here and there. I then stated I had doubts about that as well. She then stated she was napping.

You see, once someone is in the grip of addiction, they will do whatever it takes to rationalize their behavior, and unfortunately, if you are in love with an addict, you will do whatever it takes to enable their behavior, particularly if you have a bit of a hero complex and want to stop your loved one's suffering... from jonesing, I mean, not from pain. It is one of the most tragic situations imaginable.

[WANTYNU]

Even if he went to Ruffems’s 120 hour medic program, he knew that what he was doing was wrong.

Regarding his statement, I smell a bunch of cows nearby…

The shame is the tarnish this puts on all our reputations.

-w

[Richard B the EMT]

As a part of the article quoted by akflightmedic states,

The state health department also intends to revoke the license of the Blanco Volunteer Ambulance Corps, which provides emergency medical services to the southern half of Blanco County, and the license of corps paramedic Evelyn "Suzy" Armstead, who is accused of co-signing the narcotic control forms McMain filled out.

Administering narcotics without direction from a doctor violates state and federal laws. And an EMS medical director, the doctor who oversees how emergency workers administer drugs and care for patients, could be expected to question a paramedic giving a family member drugs nearly every other day without direction, said Dr. Steven Ellerbe, a member of the Governor's EMS and Trauma Advisory Council.

WANTYNU comments

I smell a bunch of cows nearby…

Wow, the male bovine excrement in this Blanco County area must be really deep, and, unfortunately, the (hopefully) good crews of that ambulance group will be tarred and feathered due to their being associated with these jerks!

I hope that nobody suffers in that community, waiting for whoever is going to cover the territory following the revocation of the ambulance's operating licence.

If I, or a family member, were to suffer dire consequences due to an extended wait for a different ambulance service provider, I would sue the hell out of these McMain, Hotz, and Armstead characters, for causing the demise of the Blanco Ambulance Service

[Dustdevil]

I wonder how many other stolen items from his squad can be found in his possession...

Excellent question. And if the county District Attorney and Sheriff's department didn't effect a search warrant on this guy's home and office BEFORE all this hit the press, then they too should be sacked for incompetence.