Nurse Duffy Gets 5 Years for Diluting Hospice Patient’s Morphine

BOSTON – A Haverhill nurse with a penchant for playing God with patient pain received a harsh sentence today in federal court. Brianna Duffy, 32, was slapped with 60 months in prison and three years of supervised release after admitting to systematically diluting morphine prescribed to vulnerable patients, leaving them to suffer needlessly.

Duffy pleaded guilty in July 2019 to one count of tampering with a consumer product and one count of acquiring a controlled substance by fraud or deception. The charges stem from incidents at two separate Massachusetts facilities: Hunt Nursing and Rehab in Danvers, and Maplewood Care and Rehabilitation Center in Amesbury. Prosecutors detailed a pattern of deceit and callous disregard for patient wellbeing.

The most egregious act occurred in March 2019 at Hunt Nursing and Rehab. Duffy, while caring for an 89-year-old hospice patient, intentionally siphoned off morphine sulfate and replaced it with an unidentified liquid. The manipulation reduced the morphine concentration to a paltry 26% of the prescribed dose. The patient, already battling the end of life, endured avoidable pain as a direct result of Duffy’s actions. She attempted to cover her tracks, but the dilution was discovered.

But the Danvers incident wasn’t an isolated event. Between December 2016 and July 2017, while employed at Maplewood Care and Rehabilitation Center, Duffy diverted morphine from two bottles prescribed to a 68-year-old patient. She then diluted the remaining morphine, reducing the concentration to a shocking 1.2%-2.5% of the original strength. Adding insult to injury, Duffy herself tested positive for morphine on July 18, 2017, suggesting she may have been self-medicating with the stolen drugs.

“This defendant violated the trust placed in her as a healthcare professional and put vulnerable patients at risk,” stated United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling. The investigation was a collaborative effort involving the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations, led by Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Ebersole; the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Inspector General, under Special Agent in Charge Phillip Coyne; and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, with Acting Commissioner Margret Cooke at the helm.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elysa Wan and Patrick Callahan, of Lelling’s Health Care Fraud Unit, successfully prosecuted the case. The sentence serves as a stark warning: those who abuse their positions of trust in the healthcare system will be held accountable, and the suffering they inflict will not be tolerated. Duffy’s actions weren’t just criminal; they were a betrayal of the most basic principles of care.