State sanctions against nurse charged with drug theft and interference with duty • Iowa Capital Dispatch

Law enforcement officers called to the facility allegedly found a narcotic pill in one of Beveridge's pockets and another narcotic pill was found on the floor near a medication cart. In addition, the panel claimed that four pills reviewed by Beveridge could neither be found nor detected.

According to the agency, Beveridge tested positive that night for opiates, oxycodone and cannabinoids – none of which Beveridge had been prescribed.

To resolve the allegations, Beveridge and the board agreed that her driver's license would be suspended for 90 days and then placed on probation for 24 months. As part of her probation, she must undergo a substance abuse evaluation, undergo psychological counseling and refrain from using alcohol and non-therapeutic drugs.

Court documents show that Beveridge was working at the Altoona Nursing and Rehabilitation Center on the night in question and that she was facing criminal charges of adult abuse and three counts of obtaining drugs by fraud or deception. Police allege Beveridge stole four Ambien tablets from one resident, a supply of hydrocodone tablets from “several” other residents and an oxycodone tablet from one resident.

A few weeks after her arrest and while the charges were pending, Beveridge told the court that she had just been hired to work at Carlisle Care Center, a state-licensed nursing facility.

Beveridge pleaded not guilty to all charges and a trial is now scheduled for February 10, 2025.

According to police and court records, Beveridge was arrested in 2014 and charged with five counts of obtaining drugs by fraud or deception while working at Deerfield Retirement Home in Urbandale. She was accused of stealing Percocet from a Deerfield resident on at least five occasions in April 2014.

All charges were later dismissed “in the interests of justice” at the request of the Polk County District Attorney’s Office. Beveridge then sued Deerfield, claiming the facility's complaints to police led to her wrongful arrest.

In her lawsuit, Beveridge also alleged that Deerfield filed complaints with the Iowa Board of Nursing and the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing, both of which concluded that the 2014 allegations were without merit. The lawsuit was later dismissed at Beveridge's request.

In 2015, Beveridge was arrested at the Iowa State Fair after she allegedly threw a beer at another person. She was later convicted of public drunkenness.

Other Iowa nurses recently sanctioned by the Board of Nursing include:

—Ayla Simpkins of Mount Sterling, who was accused of misusing patients' medications and failing to properly assess or assess a patient. The agency alleged that while working at an unspecified health care facility in October 2022, Simpkins documented giving injections and narcotics to patients who later refused them. As part of a plea deal, Simpkins agreed to an indefinite suspension of her license followed by 12 months of probation.

Court records show the alleged theft occurred at Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids, where Simpkins worked in October 2022. Prosecutors allege that an investigation by the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing found that Simpkins removed oxycodone from the hospital's supply and then falsely documented that a patient was given the narcotics.

According to prosecutors, a more comprehensive narcotics audit then revealed that Simpkins had dispensed medications for at least three additional patients without actually providing the patients with their medications. In September 2023, six weeks after her arrest, Simpkins told the court that she worked full-time for a healthcare staffing agency.

Simpkins has pleaded not guilty to felony charges of obtaining drugs by fraud or deception and tampering with records. A trial is now scheduled for February 2025.

—Jaime Gersemano address provided, who agreed to surrender her license after she was accused of failing to provide proof that she had completed the continuing education required to maintain her license.

— Potash stone of North Liberty, who was accused of practicing for 11 months while her license was inactive. She agreed to pay a civil penalty of $550.