Positive tests for opiates alarms NC nursing home

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — A North Carolina nursing home is being investigated after several patients tested positive for opiates, a class of powerful drugs that includes morphine and codeine.

The News & Observer of Raleigh reported Thursday that a female patient’s blood tests showed the presence of opiates although she was not prescribed the narcotic.

Staffers at The Britthaven of Chapel Hill nursing home said other patients in the 29-bed Alzheimer’s unit were also tested after they showed signs of lethargy. Britthaven vice president Phillip Hill says opiates were found in several patients, and two were admitted to a hospital.

The company notified police and the state health department.

Hill said the woman first discovered with opiates died of an unrelated bout of pneumonia.

Information from: The News & Observer

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