A "very busy" nurse at a nursing home in New Hope mistakenly administered a dose of oxycodone that was 20 times too strong and caused the death of a short-term resident, according to a state investigation released Tuesday.
The resident was found on the floor at North Ridge Health and Rehabilitation and was dead by the time paramedics arrived the morning of April 2, 2017, according to results of the state Health Department's investigation.
Investigators faulted the facility, finding that North Ridge had no system to detect changes in how powerful painkillers and other high-risk medications are administered. The nurse also was blamed for giving the resident the wrong dosage.
The Health Department fined North Ridge an undisclosed amount, and the home made the required corrections in its medications procedures.
The Hennepin County medical examiner's office identified the resident as Gary A. Schmidt, 53, of Plymouth.
"The whole situation is very less than satisfying," said his daughter, Liz Schmidt, on Wednesday. "My dad should have walked out of that facility."
The family's attorney, Joel Smith, said Wednesday that the nurse "administered 30 milliliters instead of 30 milligrams. ... In other words, the nurse administered at least 20 times too much of the narcotic."
Liz Schmidt said a nursing home employee called and told her of her father's death that morning, but no one associated with North Ridge has contacted her since. "They won't even talk to us, never received another call or a call back," she said.
