Nursing home workers accused of stealing drugs from ‘vulnerable’ SC patients

Charlotte Observer - 7/13/2021

Two nursing home workers are accused of stealing prescriptions from their “vulnerable” patients in South Carolina, officials said.

Bryanna Marie Govin, 24, and Kelly Michelle Morgan — also known as Kelly Morgan-Cardinale, 36 — were indicted on charges in the Greenville County drug case, the S.C. Attorney General’s office said Monday in a news release.

Officials said the women used their jobs at the Quillen Manor Independent & Assisted Living center to get access to drugs that weren’t prescribed to them, mostly between October 2019 and June 2020.

“The defendants are alleged to have unlawfully possessed controlled substances that were prescribed for the vulnerable adults residing at the facility” in Fountain Inn, southeast of Greenville, the attorney general’s office said.

A Quillen Manor representative and a Facebook user believed to be Govin didn’t didn’t immediately respond to McClatchy News’ requests for comment Tuesday. The news release didn’t list attorney information for Morgan.

In addition to the accusations about stolen drugs, “Morgan is alleged to have trafficked controlled substances, neglected vulnerable adults by failing to provide supervision or medical care, and for practicing nursing for a period of time without authorization,” officials said. No additional details about those cases were shared in the news release.

Govin is facing five counts of unlawful possession of a controlled substance. Morgan is facing one count of the same charge as well as other charges, including neglect of a vulnerable adult and trafficking in illegal drugs.

The attorney general’s office said it worked with the Fountain Inn Police Department and S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control to investigate the case.

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