KSHB 41 reporter Rachel Henderson covers neighborhoods in Wyandotte and Leavenworth counties. Share your story idea with Rachel.
Documents reveal that Tara Ann Huerta, one of the suspects charged in the fentanyl-related death of 3-year-old ‘EJ’ Brown, had her nursing license suspended in 2022.
KSHB 41 received these documents through an email tip.
Huerta received her license from the Kansas State Board of Nursing in 2016.
The board’s investigation found there were several instances involving three different patients that took place between February and March of 2020.
LINK | Read the nursing board's report
According to the facility’s policies and procedures, all controlled substance waste requires an authorized witness, and that waste must occur in the presence of that witness.
During these instances, Huerta wasted medications without a witness being physically present, falsified documentation about prescription orders and pain levels, and administered inaccurate medication and medication dosages.
The medication Huerta was dealing with included fentanyl, Lortab, Dialudid, morphine, and Percocet.
Records show that a patient made a complaint the morning of March 3, 2020, and afterwards, the facility asked Huerta to participate in a drug screen.
Huerta refused to participate, thus triggering her “immediate voluntary termination from the facility.”
The board found she violated four different provisions of the Kansas Nurse Practice Act:
- Committing an act of professional incompetency, or (1) one or more instances involving failure to adhere to the applicable standard of care to a degree which constitutes gross negligence, as determined by the board; (2) repeated instances of involving failure to adhere to the applicable standard of care to a degree which constitutes ordinary negligence, as determined by the board.
- Guilty of unprofessional conduct as defined by rules and regulations of the board, to wit: failing to take appropriate action or to follow policies and procedures in the practice situation designed to safeguard each patient.
- To be guilty of unprofessional conduct as defined by rules and regulations of the board; to wit: inaccurately recording, falsifying, or altering any record of a patient or agency or of the board.
- To be guilty of unprofessional conduct as defined by rules and regulations of the board; to wit: performing acts beyond the authorized scope to the level of nursing for which the individual is licensed.
The board ordered Huerta to participate in a drug and alcohol evaluation with the Kansas Nurse Assistance Program (KNAP).
KSHB contacted KNAP about the status of Huerta’s participation.
Huerta is scheduled to make her second appearance in court on Friday, Aug. 22, before Leavenworth County District Court Judge Gerald Kuckelman.
—
