Category: Nurse

Pennsylvania Nurse Accused Of At Least 17 Deaths Of Patient Insulin Overdoses

B| Eli Lilly Caps Insulin Prices Slashes Seventy Percent NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 02: In this photo illustration, Taylor Jane Stimmler, whose had type 1 diabetes since she was a teenager, displays her insulin and needles used for injection, on March 02, 2023 in New York City. Drugmaker Eli Lilly announced yesterday that it will cap the out-of-pocket cost of its insulin at $35 a month. Medical experts believe that the unexpected move may compel other insulin makers in the U.S. to follow suit and cap their prices of insulin. For those without health insurance or a health plan, the cost of insulin can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars a month for a diabetic. (Photo Illustration by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) F| Butler County jail

B| (Photo Illustration by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) F| Butler County jail

OAN’s Abril Elfi 
12:01 PM – Saturday, November 4, 2023

SEE: https://www.oann.com/newsroom/pennsylvania-nurse-accused-of-at-least-17-deaths-of-patient-insulin-overdoses/;

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

A Pennsylvania nurse has been accused of allegedly administering lethal or potentially lethal doses of insulin to multiple patients, causing at least 17 deaths. 

On Thursday, 41-year-old Heather Pressdee was arraigned on two new homicide charges after she had been accused in May of killing at least two nursing home patients and injuring a third.

Pressdee proceeded to reportedly later confess to the attempted murder of 19 patients.

Pressdee’s defense attorney, James DePasquale, said the fresh accusations were not unexpected and that they are attempting to avoid the death penalty.

The most recent allegations accuse mistreatment of 19 more patients at five different care facilities since 2020. 

She was charged with 17 counts of attempted murder and 19 counts of abuse of a care-dependent person, in addition to two counts of first-degree murder.

Pressdee, a resident of Natrona Heights, Pennsylvania, allegedly administered excessive doses of insulin to patients, some of whom were diabetic and others who were not. 

According to state Attorney General Michelle Henry, Pressdee often provided insulin during nocturnal shifts when personnel was minimal and the situations did not necessitate emergency hospitalization.

“The allegations against Ms. Pressdee are disturbing,” Henry said in a statement. “It is hard to comprehend how a nurse, trusted to care for her patients, could choose to deliberately and systematically harm them.”

17 of her patients, ranging in age from 43 to 104, have died, according to Henry. Not long after the initial allegations were filed, her nursing license was suspended. 

Pressdee worked as a registered nurse at five different facilities, including Concordia at Rebecca Residence, Belair Healthcare and Rehabilitation (Guardian Elder Care), Quality Life Services Chicora, Premier Armstrong Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, and Sunnyview Rehabilitation and Nursing Center.

According to court documents, between April 2022 and May of this year, Pressdee wrote her mother numerous texts in which she expressed her dissatisfaction with various patients and colleagues and talked about potentially killing them. She also complained about people she met in restaurants and other public locations outside of healthcare facilities.

Documents also stated that the former nurse had a history of being “disciplined for abusive behavior towards patients and/or staff at each facility resulting in her resigning or being terminated.”

Pressdee is being held without bail at the Butler County jail.

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