Scripps Hospital Fires 12 in Theft, Drug Probe

Scripps Memorial Hospital administrators, faced with their second drug scandal in the past four months, have dismissed 12 employees for allegedly selling drugs and stealing medical supplies from its Encinitas facility.

The dismissed employees--who were accused of possessing, peddling and in some cases using “street drugs” such as methamphetamine and marijuana on hospital premises--were not responsible for treating patients, said Steven Goe, vice president of Scripps Memorial Hospital-Encinitas. Such drugs are not stocked at the hospital, he said at a press conference Monday.

In April, 30 employees of Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla were fired after an internal investigation that uncovered similar violations. In both cases, hospital officials have insisted that patient care wasn’t affected.

No physicians, nurses or other members of the medical staff were involved in illegal activity, Goe said.

The probe at the hospital, which has 780 employees--330 physicians and 450 nurses, technicians and administrators--began after the La Jolla incident, when Encinitas hospital administrators suspected drug use and theft.

The four-month investigation conducted by Confidential Management Services, a private investigative firm based in San Dimas, culminated last week when 19 employees were questioned over three days. Those interviews led to the dismissal of two department managers and 10 non-medical staff members, Goe said. He declined to specify which departments or to disclose job titles.

“Of the 12 people who were dismissed, only four of the cases were drug-related,” Goe said.

He said three employees were fired for allegedly selling or possessing drugs, such as marijuana or methamphetamine; another dismissed worker was accused of using similar drugs during off hours on hospital grounds. Goe, however, said another employee was fired for allegedly stealing “non-narcotic drugs” from the hospital. Goe declined to describe the type of drugs.

Michael Bardin, a spokesman for Scripps Memorial Hospital-Encinitas, said the hospital is not planning to send results of the investigation to authorities.

“Getting people arrested was not the intention of the investigation,” Bardin said. “The purpose of the investigation was to keep drugs out of the workplace. If Confidential Management Services determines that laws were broken and they want to contact authorities, that’s up to them. Whether charges are made (against the dismissed employees) is up to the authorities.”

Peyton Schur, president of Confidential Management Services, said the firm has worked with and sent a final report to Lt. Pat Kerins of the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department. Kerins could not be reached for comment Monday.

“Traditional” investigative methods, including using undercover workers and videotapes, were used by the firm during the probe, Goe said. “Everything we did was within our legal bounds, and no one’s privacy was violated.”

Bardin said the remaining employees were fired for stealing minor hospital supplies, including surgical kits, stethoscopes, linen and pillows.

“It wasn’t so much what they stole that troubled us,” Bardin said. “It was the repetitive nature of their actions.” He said the employees stole on several occasions, making off with goods valued at $100 each theft.

The 99-bed Encinitas facility is one of three major hospitals--along with La Jolla and Chula Vista--that belong to Scripps Memorial, a nonprofit community hospital system.

The medical system also operates several specific medical centers, including a drug-alcohol abuse program, and manages two convalescent homes.