The law firm retained by several families of children at the center of a probe into an Arlington Heights school nurse’s alleged ”misuse” of the kids’ medications is calling for the principal to be removed, pending the outcome of the investigation.
The nurse is already on leave, according to Arlington Heights School District 25 officials. The health professional is not identified because they are not, to date, charged with a crime.
“We believe what happened at Westgate Elementary is a reckless endangerment of the children’s physical and emotional health as well as their social and educational development,” attorneys from the Chicago-based personal injury law firm of Romanucci and Blandin stated in a news release Wednesday. “We are calling for Westgate Elementary School Principal Ann Buch to be placed on administrative leave until all of the facts come out.”
The Arlington Heights police confirmed that at least nine children – so far – are at the center of an investigation into the Westgate school nurse’s alleged “misuse” of prescription medications that were supposed to be administered to students.
The scrutiny comes after a student at the northwest suburban school, which enrolls nearly 600 children in kindergarten to fifth grade, was found to have fentanyl in their system, according to authorities.
“On Monday evening, April 22, an Arlington Heights School District 25 administrator was made aware of concerns and documentation regarding a licensed registered nurse at Westgate and the potential misuse of prescription medication intended for specific student use,” SD25 officials stated in a news release the following day. “We immediately reported this matter to the Arlington Heights Police Department and then to the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.”
Fentanyl is described by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration as a “potent” synthetic opioid used for pain management. An overdose can lead to death.
School officials stated the nurse was placed on administrative leave. But the law firm, which would not state the exact number of families that retained their counsel, said the fallout should also include the principal being removed for now.
“In addition to the apparent deliberate conduct of a school medical professional who substituted non-prescription medication for the children’s prescription medications, we have evidence of … Buch’s deliberate indifference to student safety,” law firm officials wrote in the release.
They also allege in the release that school administrators have not been sufficiently transparent with this situation, as stated in a SD25 letter to parents they would be. The law firm says school district families and the greater community should be “provided updates regarding enforcement of policy and protocol changes to keep children safe through the appropriate protection and administration of medicine by school staff.”
Further, they say as of Wednesday there had been no additional communication to the parents on the school district’s policy response to the crisis.
“We demand school officials be transparent and share their plans for the safety and protection of children receiving medication at school”, according to the news release.
Asked about the call for Buch to be placed on leave, SD25 spokesman Adam Harris told Pioneer press in an email that, “This is an ongoing police investigation and we are cooperating fully.”
He also said a letter from Buch had been sent to Westgate parents last Friday explaining that the school’s health office would be staffed by two other nurses from the school district.
“In addition, District 25 continues to work with the Illinois State Board of Education to review our policies and protocols to ensure the oversight and integrity of medication maintenance and dispensing at all District 25 schools is appropriate,” the principal’s letter read.
Several families that retained the law firm, each identified as Doe Family to protect their privacy, stated in the Romanucci and Blandin release that they felt betrayed by the nurse’s alleged actions
“This very serious abuse of the community’s trust took place on her watch and presented a tremendous health risk to our child,” said the parents of Doe Family 1.
Families said the medication issues continue to impact their respective child.
“Our family remains extremely distressed by this situation and we continue to be concerned for our child’s well-being and the impact this could have on our child. The reverberations of this situation may last a very long time,” said the parents of Doe Family 2.
The families appear to stand in support of each other.
“We trusted the school to act to protect and care for our child’s medical needs when we could not be present with them, and we will stand along with the other families involved calling for accountability,” said the parents of Doe Family 4.
Arlington Heights police Sergeant Mike Orlando previously told Pioneer Press the investigation is ongoing, with few details publicly available at this time.