An emergency room nurse at Heritage Valley Sewickley Hospital who was using narcotics he had stolen from the hospital caused the death of at least two patients, according to a six-count whistleblower lawsuit filed against the health system.
Heritage Valley Health System, CEO Norm Mitry, chief nursing officer Linda Homyk and other hospital physicians and managers were named in the lawsuit, which was filed in February by the Pittsburgh office of Saul Ewing LLP and unsealed June 15 by U.S. District Court Judge Cathy Bissoon.
In the lawsuit, registered nurses Jennifer Duckett and Samantha Gallo allege that co-worker Nolan D. Chismire, of Baden, Beaver County, was sometimes so intoxicated when caring for patients that he had trouble walking. They allege he caused the 2024 death of a 70-year-old woman who came to the emergency room with a non-life-threatening condition and died after he delayed her care, then made an error in administering a medication, according to the lawsuit.
In a second instance later that year, Chismire denied care to a 47-year-old man who was experiencing symptoms of alcohol withdrawal.
Without medical attention, the man left the emergency room and was later found in the hospital parking lot with a bleeding head wound. He was transferred to Allegheny General Hospital, where he died.
At least six HVHS nurses, including Chismire’s wife, Tina, also a registered nurse at Sewickley, alerted hospital officials about Chismire’s alleged drug problem between 2021...
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