Employee at Whatcom assisted-living facility reportedly steals resident’s oxycodone pills
An employee at a Whatcom County assisted-living facility has been criminally charged after allegedly stealing oxycodone from a resident’s pill pack and replacing it with an anxiety medication.
Allyson M. Allen, 34, was booked and released Monday, Aug. 22, from Whatcom County Jail. Whatcom County Superior Court records show Allen was charged July 1 by the Whatcom County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office with obtaining a controlled substance by fraud and delivery of a controlled substance.
On Nov. 4, 2021, the Lynden Police Department was contacted by a Washington State Department of Social and Health Services investigator who was looking into a report that some narcotics at Lynden Manor had gone missing, court documents state.
The nursing director at the assisted-living facility told the DSHS investigator that Allen, who was working as an employee at Lynden Manor, had admitted to stealing oxycodone from a resident’s pill pack, according to documents. Allen then reportedly replaced the oxycodone in the pill pack with Lorzaepam.
Police went to the facility and collected a pill pack from the resident and found that the foil on the back had been broken and taped over and different pills were inside, court documents state. Police found that 31 oxycodone pills had been taken and replaced with Lorazepam.
When interviewed by police, Allen admitted to stealing the resident’s oxycodone pills since Aug. 21, 2021, documents state. She also reportedly told police that she started to replace the oxycodone with Lorazepam in October of 2021 because so many pills were missing, but Allen added that she did not believe the resident was given the Lorazepam.
The Bellingham Herald has reached out to the Washington State Department of Health asking for details about its investigation into the allegations.
Lynden Manor has changed ownership since the alleged incidents, and effective July 12, 2022, it is operated by CarePartners Senior Living — a management company located in Western Washington that operates 17 communities from Lacey to Lynden and Spokane.
“This incident was investigated under the previous ownership by Washington State DSHS, Lynden Police, and internally as it was the facility who self-reported the concern,” CarePartners Management Group Regional Director of Operations Jake Montzingo told The Bellingham Herald in an emailed statement. “The employee was terminated when presented with the allegations.
“Many months later, they applied back to work at the facility having been cleared by law enforcement. Washington State DSHS was also notified by the facility of this employee’s potential return to work, who re-opened the investigation and cleared the facility of any licensing failure of practice and issued no citations.”
In response to a follow-up question, Montzingo said CarePartners was unaware of the charges that were filed July 1 against Allen or her booking on Monday.
“We are investigating this concern as this employee was previously cleared to work at Lynden Manor by Washington State DSHS, local law enforcement, and previous ownership,” Montzingo wrote.
Lynden Manor offers 115 assisted-living units, while Cottage Lane at Lynden Manor provides 28 memory-care units.
