Salem care home employee accused of stealing meds
A Salem woman has been arrested after allegedly stealing medication, including narcotics and muscle relaxers, from residents at the care facility where she was employed, officials said.
Elizabeth Roark, 29, was arrested Friday on seven counts of first-degree criminal mistreatment following a months-long investigation by Salem police.
According to a probable cause statement filed in Marion County, Roark stole medication from at least seven care home residents over a three-month period. Roark, who worked as a facility administrator at Four Seasons Residential Care Facilities, is no longer employed with the company.
The statement gave the following information:
An employee contacted police in June after several care workers reported that Roark was stealing medications like morphine, oxycodone and hydrocodone from residents. The investigation revealed that she was taking prescription narcotics from seven residents, all of whom were considered elderly or dependent.
The investigator interviewed employees and residents, reviewed the facility's narcotics log and found Roark would sign out medication but then not administer it to the residents. Roark would also allegedly sign out narcotics for "melt down" — destroying medication that is no longer needed — for unknown reasons. Another employee reported that Roark admitted to her that she had stolen 100 tablets of Vicodin and sold them.
A victim's wife told the investigator Roark confiscated 60 of her husband's hydrocodone tablets and destroyed them without asking. The man was in pain from not getting his medication multiple times. Other victims included a woman with dementia, a woman with an amputated leg and residents who could not care for themselves. Their ages ranged from 58 to 98.
In a notice filed in Marion County, Deputy District Attorney Keir Boettcher stated Roark showed deliberate cruelty to multiple, vulnerable victims, violated the public's trust and demonstrated a lack of remorse.
Lt. Dave Okada, a Salem police spokesman, said police are investigating whether Roark mistreated any more victims. The investigation remains underway.
According to Oregon law, a person commits criminal mistreatment if they violate their duty to provide care for an elderly or dependent person by knowingly taking and misusing property. First-degree criminal mistreatment, a class C felony, carries a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment.
Four Seasons is 60-bed, three building facility in North Salem. Roark was listed as an administrator for two of the buildings on the facility's website, but the company said she is no longer an employee.
On the advice of her attorney, Roark did not make a statement to police and turned herself in on Friday. After her Monday arraignment, she was released from jail and ordered to have no contact with her former employer and any elderly or dependent people while being in a fiduciary position.
Her next court appearance was scheduled for Oct. 12 at 1:30 p.m. at the Marion County Circuit Court Annex.
Email wmwoodwort@statesmanjournal.com, call 503-399-6884 or follow on Twitter @wmwoodworth
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