The Connecticut Board of Examiners for Nursing on Oct. 1 declined to approve a modified consent order for registered nurse Christy Ilowitz, citing concerns about repeated violations of an earlier agreement and asking the department to return with a revision that starts the probation period at the board‑approved date and considers narcotic restrictions.

What the department proposed
- Attorney Joelle Newton told the board the original consent order, effective April 1, 2023, placed Ilowitz on three years’ probation for diversion of morphine, oxycodone and Percocet and required random urine screening, therapy, employer reports and abstinence from alcohol and drugs. The department said Ilowitz later violated the order: a benzodiazepine positive in March 2025 and a tramadol positive on June 16, 2025. The department and respondent proposed modifying the order to extend probation to four years, expiring March 31, 2027, and to continue monitoring terms.

Board discussion and vote
- Several board members — Cindy Arpin, Lisa Freeman, Mary Dieteman and Chair Gina Reiners — said they were concerned that the proposed timetable left only about 18 months from the last violation to the stated end date and urged that a four‑year probation period begin when the board approves the modification rather than be backdated to April 1, 2023.
- Salvatore Diaz also raised whether an opioid/narcotics restriction should be added because the respondent’s history involved controlled substances.
- Attorney Virginia (Gillette) for the respondent said the two positive tests in 2025 were “inadvertent” medication mix‑ups while the client was undergoing cancer treatment: the March incident involved taking her husband’s prescription; the June incident involved ingesting her mother’s tramadol that had been stored in an over‑the‑counter bottle. Gillette noted the respondent had two years without incidents between April 2023 and March 2025.
- After discussion, the board voted (nays recorded by roll call) to reject the modified consent order as written. The chair instructed the department to work with counsel and return with a revised order that would start the probation period on the board‑approved date and include narcotics restrictions if appropriate.

Next steps
- The department agreed to review the matter with respondent counsel; Attorney Newton confirmed the department would discuss starting the four‑year probation at the time of the board’s approval and whether to add a narcotic restriction.

Context
- Consent orders are negotiated resolutions that place conditions on a license without a contested hearing. Board members emphasized patient safety and requested stronger terms after two positive tests in a short span during 2025, despite counsel attributing the results to medication mix‑ups during serious medical treatment.

Ending note
- The modified order did not pass; the department will return with a revised consent order reflecting the board’s direction.