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The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –
A former nurse whose license was revoked was caught stealing medication from two separate hospitals last month.
Charged with two counts of impersonating a licensed professional and theft, 36-year-old Marissa Jean Denton was being held on a $126,000 bond while scheduled to appear in court yesterday.
According to the Tennessee Board of Nursing, Denton originally received her nursing license in 2016 in Maryland, allowing her to practice in 43 states.
Having moved to the state in 2022 from Maryland, Denton worked for LHC Group located in Clarksville in 2023 providing in-home healthcare services to patients.
The wife of one of Denton’s patients filed a complaint against her in October of 2023 after discovering that her engagement ring was missing. The patient’s wife’s accusation was proven to be true after surveillance footage from the home was reviewed. Denton admitted to the theft, saying that she was struggling financially due to a “nasty divorce.”
After losing her job, and being arrested, the charge against Denton was eventually expunged as she followed the requirements that the court set for her but she was unable to keep her nursing license.
The Tennessee nursing board revoked her multistate license for “unprofessional conduct” at the end of last year, despite Denton offering to pay a fine or perform community service.
On September 15th, Denton was caught entering the Critical Care Unit at Vanderbilt University Medical Center on the 6th floor while wearing blue medical scrubs and posing as a nurse. According to Metro Nashville Police she tried to take 100mL of Propofol without authorization from the room of a patient.
After being released from jail, Denton tried again at a different hospital two days later. An employee at Ascension Saint Thomas Midtown found her using a plastic syringe to draw Propofol from an “active drip” that was attached to a patient and intervened.
Before her license was revoked, Denton had once worked for Ascension Saint Thomas early in 2024.
Propofol is both an anesthetic and sedative. It is used to help patients relax or to sleep.
Ascension Saint Thomas is reportedly investigating the incident and has increased security, including extra training on access protocols for its staff.
A motive for Denton’s actions has not yet been identified.
In 2022, a travel nurse, Jacqueline Brewster, was arrested in Kentucky in response to a fugitive warrant from Washington County, Tennessee, for allegations of tampering with vials and syringes of an opioid painkiller, Dilaudid.
Documents filed by Tennessee and West Virginia health authorities accused Brester of removing some of the drug fro.m their containers either for use or sale, and adding another liquid to possibly cover her tracks.
Brewster was granted judicial diversion after a guilty plea to one count of obtaining narcotics by fraud in 2023.
Other Sources:
About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
2 Responses
Yup, dimmercrap “nurses”.
This is the reason each patient should have someone with them in these hospitals at all times. So scary.