Former Kalispell assisted living employee admits diverting pain medication

MISSOULA - A former employee at an assisted living facility in Kalispell today admitted allegations that she tampered with packaging and took pain medications intended for patients, U.S Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.

The defendant, Nicole Elice Anderson, 39, of Post Falls, Idaho, pleaded guilty to unlawfully obtaining controlled substances as charged in an indictment. Anderson faces a maximum of four years in prison, a $250,000 fine and one year of supervised release.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto presided. Sentencing was set for March 12, 2025 before U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen. The court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Anderson was released pending further proceedings.

In court documents, the government alleged that from approximately February 2023 to March 2023, Anderson obtained oxycodone and hydrocodone by fraud and deception. In March 2023, Drug Enforcement Administration agents were alerted to a drug diversion at Prestige Assisted Living in Kalispell in which 120 hydrocodone tablets for a patient had been substituted with Tylenol. Seven medication cards had evidence of tampering. Prestige staff identified Anderson as one of two employees who had access to the drugs when they were taken. Staff also discovered a tampered oxycodone blister pack. Management interviewed Anderson and the other employee, and both submitted to drug tests. Anderson quit before the results came back. Anderson's test was positive for oxycodone. The other employee was negative for the same drug.

The investigation determined that Anderson was prescribed a significant amount of hydrocodone, but not oxycodone, between February 2021 and March 2023 from seven different providers. In addition, witnesses described Anderson checking out medications for patients who did not receive the drugs. Anderson admitted to multiple coworkers that she was prescribed hydrocodone for back pain, was addicted to the drug and routinely ran out of her prescription. Anderson asked several staff members for pain medications. Anderson later started working at an assisted living facility in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. In June 2023, the Coeur d'Alene Police Department responded to a reported theft of hydrocodone from the facility. Management found multiple medication packs had been tampered with and that hydrocodone and hydromorphone pills had been replaced with Tylenol and anti-anxiety medication.

The U.S. Attorney's Office is prosecuting the case. The DEA conducted the investigation.

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