Connecticut Department of Public Health panel schedules fact-finding after nurse testifies in medication-disposal case

A Department of Public Health panel on Oct. 15 heard testimony in a disciplinary proceeding against Delia Sienna, a registered nurse accused of failing to secure and properly dispose of multiple home-health patients’ medications and of breaching patient confidentiality.

Panel members heard testimony from the department's counsel, statements from drug control personnel and a DEA investigator referenced in exhibits, and an extended statement and cross-examination of Sienna. The department asked the panel to find that the respondent failed to properly maintain patient medications and asked that the panel revoke her nursing license; the panel instead scheduled a separate fact-finding meeting to review the record and reach factual determinations.

Why this matters: disciplinary findings and any sanction against a licensed nurse involve public-safety and professional-regulation questions and can affect continuity of care for patients served by home-health providers.

The department’s closing argument, presented by department counsel Attorney Fezzina, said the respondent “admitted to the allegation in paragraph 7” (failure to properly dispose of medications from…