Investigator says evidence shows nurse was intoxicated at work and gave prescription drugs to coworker

An investigator for the Department testified at a disciplinary hearing that there is a preponderance of evidence that nurse Liza Paulson was intoxicated while on duty and that she gave prescription medication to a coworker.

Bridal Bisson, identified in the hearing as a lead investigator who handled DDS investigations for the Kennedy Collective, told the panel that an intake from the centralized abuse investigation division showed "a report that Ms. Paulson had worked under the influence of narcotics while performing her duties here" and that his investigation found sufficient evidence that "she had been intoxicated while working at the Kennedy Center and as a result was putting the people under her supervision at risk." He also testified that the investigation substantiated that Paulson "had distributed medication to people who was not prescribed for, while she was here."

The finding followed interviews Bisson described as part of a multi-source investigation. He said coworker number 1 reported seeing Paulson apparently under the influence and said she had received medication from Paulson. Bisson said he interviewed two nurses who reportedly escorted Paulson home on the day of the alleged incident; one, Erica Nagy, corroborated that she transported Paulson home and recalled advising Paulson to notify a supervisor. Bisson said another nurse, Melissa Filick, initially agreed to provide a statement and later declined to participate. Bisson testified he emailed Leanne Torres, the DDS lead investigator, and that the email correspondence supported his conclusion that some medication involved had come from a Kennedy Collective client.

Richard Sebastian, president and CEO of the Kennedy Collective, also testified at the hearing. Sebastian said he met with coworker number 1 in November 2019 and again in December 2019 after the employee returned from FMLA leave. He told the panel the employee disclosed a history of post-traumatic stress and narcotics abuse and reported receiving OxyContin and Adderall from Paulson, sometimes in the parking lot or at Paulson’s office during work hours. Sebastian said coworker number 1 later told investigators she had also collected medication from Paulson’s home and that she had seen blister packs of lorazepam on Paulson’s dining room table.

Sebastian said he interviewed Paulson on Dec. 9, 2019, and that Paulson "acknowledged that she had indeed been giving coworker number 1 narcotics and the Adderall" and that the arrangement occurred at work and sometimes at Paulson’s home. Sebastian said Paulson told investigators she knew the conduct was wrong and that it was not within her scope as a nurse, and that Paulson acknowledged she would face legal or professional sanctions. Sebastian testified Paulson was later terminated for violating the organization’s drug- and alcohol-free workplace policy.

Both witnesses described timing and evidentiary limits: Nagy’s written statement referenced a single, roughly three- to four-year-old incident but did not fix an exact date; Bisson testified there was no sworn affidavit process typical of DDS investigations but rather signed statements; and Sebastian said some of the occurrences predated his arrival at the Kennedy Collective in January 2018. Bisson also said he did not speak directly with the patient whose medication was implicated because that patient’s medications were handled by Paulson at the time.

Counsel for the respondent repeatedly cross-examined the witnesses on the reliability and detail of statements, whether the observed items at Paulson’s home were client medication and whether the accounts described the same incident. Bisson testified he believed portions of coworker number 1’s statement and that additional evidence corroborated that medication came from a client, while acknowledging limits on exact dating and full patient-level verification. Sebastian said he did not personally observe Paulson under the influence and that he had no independent knowledge of criminal charges; Bisson said he had seen a news article reporting charges but had not seen reports of any dismissal.

The hearing record includes investigative materials referenced as Department Exhibit 5; the exhibit was cited for the intake, interview summaries and investigator notes. Several witnesses and counsel discussed department and Kennedy Collective policies: investigators referenced centralized abuse intake procedures and DDS investigative standards, and Sebastian testified the organization maintains a drug- and alcohol-free workplace policy and protocols for medication destruction and handling.

No formal board action or vote appears in the transcript segment provided. The hearing included lengthy direct and cross-examination of two witnesses and repeated procedural objections and interventions by the chair and counsel.

The Department’s investigative report and the Kennedy Collective’s notes were entered into the record as exhibits during testimony; the transcript identifies interview dates in December 2019 and references earlier occurrences that witnesses recalled as happening three to four years before the 2019 interviews.

The hearing transcript identifies the following next-step documents and sources in the record: Department Exhibit 5 (investigative intake and report), signed witness statements from coworker number 1 and Erica Nagy, and the investigator’s email exchanges with DDS lead investigator Leanne Torres.