Defendant Christine Peckey Accused Of Failing To Provide Medications To Patients Under Her Care
BUFFALO – Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced the arrest of Christine Peckey, 59, of Buffalo, NY, for allegedly failing to administer medication to four residents of Mercy Hospital Skilled Nursing Facility at OLV (“OLV”), located at 55 Melroy Avenue in Lackawanna, and then falsifying the Medication Administration Record (“MAR”) for each resident to reflect that she had administered the medication.
The four residents in this case, identified in court papers only by their initials to protect their privacy, were supposed to receive various medications on July 28, 2014. However, upon inspection by other staffers, the medication that was to be dispensed by Peckey on July 28 was allegedly still in the blister pack on July 29. A review of the MARs for each of the residents revealed that Peckey had placed her initials on the MARs for each of the four residents in the boxes corresponding to the date for July 28, 2014, which indicated that she had administered the listed medication to each of the four residents.
Evidence gathering in the case was fostered by diligent work by concerned staffers at OLV, who, on the previous day, had made photocopies of the blister packs containing the medication to be administered on July 28, showing that the medication was unused before and after the supposed time of administration by Peckey.
“Nursing home residents are among our state’s most vulnerable citizens and should be assured of receiving adequate and competent care,” said Attorney General Schneiderman. “My office will not tolerate anyone being neglected by those responsible for their care and my office will continue to work to ensure that those most in need of help are safely cared for and treated with dignity and respect.”
Peckey was charged with four counts of Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree, a class E felony, and four counts of Wilful Violation of Health Laws, an unclassified misdemeanor. The E felony charge carries a maximum prison term of four years. She was arraigned in Lackawanna City Court before Honorable Frederic Marrano and entered a plea of not guilty. She was released on her own recognizance and is due back in court on June 17 at 2:00 P.M.
The charges are merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law.
The case was investigated by Investigator Christopher Canfield, with assistance from Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) Supervising Investigator James Zablonski and MFCU Deputy Chief Investigator William Falk. The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant Attorney General Thomas N. Schleif of the MFCU Buffalo Regional Office. Gary A. Baldauf is the Regional Director of the MFCU Buffalo Regional Office. Catherine Wagner is the Chief of Criminal Investigations-Upstate. The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit is led by acting MFCU Director Amy Held. The Division of Criminal Justice is led by Executive Deputy Attorney General Kelly Donovan.