16 The Courier sun • april 4, 2013 for breaking news visit www.couriersun.com NURSE ARRESTED FOR GIVING MEDS TO PATIENTS BY MAGIE HAYES mhayes@queenscourier.com A Hollis nurse has been arrested for playing doctor. James Williams, 59, worked as a registered nurse at the Hillside Manor Adult Day Care Center, where he allegedly took it upon himself to diagnose and medicate his patients without the consult of a doctor, according to Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman. “Nurses at adult day care centers are trusted to protect their patients, not to expose them to potential harm,” said Schneiderman. After making his own diagnosis for several day care participants, Williams would call in prescriptions to local pharmacies under the guise they were ordered by a doctor, when in fact they were not, according to the charges. As a nurse, Williams is not appropriately trained or licensed to make such calls. A fellow nurse and program director at Hillside Manor informed the attorney general’s office of at least three participants that Williams was treating. Telephone prescription records show the Williams ordering medication over the course of a year under the names of various doctors. Williams used doctors’ names including Dr. Satish Deshpande and Dr. Annupria Itteera, who both said they did not authorize the nurse to prescribe any of the medications he called for. The prescriptions ordered include zolpidem (the generic of Ambien), a controlled substance, and oxycodone, a narcotic drug. Although there were no reports of any harm to his patients, there was a “substantial risk posed,” said the attorney general, and that no day care participant should have taken these substances without the proper authorization. Williams was charged with unauthorized practice of a profession, falsifying business records, willful violation of health laws, criminal possession of a controlled substance and petit larceny, all for which he faces up to four years imprisonment. Neither Hillside Manor nor Williams’ lawyer returned calls for comment as of press time. Photos Courtesy The Middle Village Kiwanis BREAKFAST WITH THE BUNNY The Middle Village Kiwanis, under the leadership of chair Janet Falcone and president Tina Di Troia, held a very successful pancake breakfast at St. Margaret School featuring the Easter Bunny. There were raffle giveaways, with the grand prize winner taking home an iPod Mini and docking system. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL James Williams, a Hollis nurse, was arrested for unauthorized prescribing of medication to patients. Photo courtesy of Frances Scarantino EASTER GIFT Rotary gives $500 to OLG Ministry BY TERENCE M. CULLEN tcullen@queenscourier.com A local ministry got a big surprise in its Easter basket this year. The Rotary Club of Southwest Queens gave a $500 check to the Our Lady of Grace Ministry of Care & Service just before Easter to help those most in need. Frances O. Scarantino, the club’s immediate past president, said fundraising efforts were halted this year because many members were dealing with personal problems from Sandy. Normally, the club holds a “Stuff the Bus” drive, where members rent a school bus and stand outside Waldbaum’s on Cross Bay Boulevard to collect canned goods and donate them around Thanksgiving. The club still wanted to continue helping the charity and collected money from members, Scarantino said. Other chapters of the Rotary Club also donated money to the cause. Scarantino said it was important the charity get the continued help from the Rotary Club despite Sandy. “We’re a strong believer that food is a basic necessity and everyone should have it,” she said. “We wanted to make sure we at least got them the check.” Though they lost the Thanksgiving donation, the fact that the club’s donation fell on another holiday was a happy coincidence, Scarantino said. “We didn’t plan to do it around the holiday,” she said, “it just fell that way.” The Courier was unable to reach the OLG Ministry for comment at press time.
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