By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com
A nurse at a senior living facility in Roseville has been arrested on suspicion of stealing medications from residents.
Marlene Sandra Delp, 63, was arrested by Roseville police at The Terraces of Roseville on Sunrise Avenue where she was a resident registered nurse. She is accused of stealing numerous packages of prescription medication from residents and in some cases giving them over-the-counter pain medication in place of their prescribed painkillers.
Jackie Budrovic, vice president of Westmont Living, the La Jolla-based firm that manages The Terraces, said company officials were conducting a routine audit at the facility on Wednesday and staff members reported discrepancies in medication records.
She said that Delp had worked at The Terraces of Roseville for about a year and oversaw nurses dispensing medications to residents.
Budrovic said Westmont Living officials immediately reported their suspicions to Roseville police.
Lt. Mike Doane said detectives met with officials and searched Delp's apartment at senior living facility. In her apartment, they found dozens of packages of medications prescribed to 28 different people, including 19 residents of the senior care facility.
Many of the medications were narcotic painkillers. Doane said detectives are still trying to determine who the other nine people are and how those prescription medications came to be in Delp's possession.
Delp was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of burglary and elder abuse and held in Placer County jail until her arraignment.
She pleaded not-guilty to the charges Friday in Placer County Superior Court and was released on her own recognizance with a promise to appear, Doane said.
A restraining order prohibits her from returning to the senior living facility.
The Terraces of Roseville provides assisted living services to about 100 residents, Budrovic said.
"We're all very saddened and shocked by this," she said.
Doane said anyone who has a family member at the facility who believes they may have been harmed by not receiving prescribed medication or by receiving an over-the-counter substitute, should call the Police Department's vice narcotics unit at (916) 774-5000.
Police advise people with concerns about the well-being or care of an elder or dependent adult who lives in Placer County to call Placer County Access at (888) 886-5401.
Those with dependent elders or dependent adults in other counties should report concerns to that county's adult protective services agency.
Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.