Minnesota nursing home client dies after dose of oxycodone

State investigators say a nurse mistakenly gave a short-term resident at a New Hope, Minnesota, nursing home a dose of oxycodone that was 20 times stronger than he should have received, killing him. (Photo by Ulrich Joho/Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0)

MINNEAPOLIS — State investigators say a nurse mistakenly gave a short-term resident at a New Hope, Minnesota, nursing home a dose of oxycodone that was 20 times stronger than he should have received, killing him.

The Star Tribune reports that 53-year-old Gary Schmidt, of Plymouth, Minnesota, died within a few hours of being given the drug on April 2 at North Ridge Health and Rehabilitation. He was dead by the time paramedics arrived.

The investigation by the state Department of Health found that North Ridge had no system to detect changes in how powerful painkillers and other high-risk medications are administered. The nurse also was blamed for giving the resident the incorrect dosage.

The department fined North Ridge an undisclosed amount.

North Ridge officials did not immediately return a phone message to the newspaper seeking comment.