MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A former Le Bonheur employee was indicted for stealing patient identities and forging doctors’ signatures to get drugs.
Fannie Randolph used to work in the emergency room as a clerical employee.
LeBonheur officials realized what Randolph was doing in 2013 and called the TBI.
Sarah Burnett with LeBonheur Children’s Hospital said the hospital does everything it can to maintain patients’ trust.
So, when they discovered a couple of years ago that an ER employee was using patients identities to commit TennCare fraud and steal drugs, they took action.
“All the families who were affected know. So, we’re happy that it’s with the TBI now, and we’re going to continue to work with them,” Burnett said.
The TBI said Fannie Randolph was even using patients’ insurance to pay for medications and forging doctors’ signatures to get them.
Cathy Vest has a young relative who is a patient that Le Bonheur and said she cannot understand how someone could take advantage of families with sick children.
“We have a little baby in intensive care, and that’s sad that people would take instead of giving,” she said.
The TBI said Randolph got away with this for almost a year.
Vest questions how this even happened in the first place.
“Who was responsible for checking that stuff? Right there’s a problem too,” she said.
Burnett told WREG changes had been made.
“After we did our investigation, we put more steps in place to make sure this never happens again; extra checks and balances and that kind of thing.”
She said she hopes people will not let one bad apple spoil the bunch of more than 2,000 who work to help children every day.
Randolph was indicted on eight counts of theft and six counts of TennCare fraud.
She turned herself into the jail Thursday, but posted bond and is free.