2 Hospitals and 3 Nursing Homes Face Fines for Dumping Meds
Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has made the decision to fine 3 nursing homes and 2 hospitals for dumping drugs into the water supply. Employees at 5 different facilities in the Putnam and Delaware counties threw antibiotics, antidepressants, hormones, and painkillers down sinks and toilets according to the
Attorney General.
“Want to drink a glass of antibiotics or a glass of medication?” Cuomo said at a Manhattan press conference.
The investigation, which began 8 months ago after reports about traces of drugs were being found in the contaminated drinking water of several major cities across the country was begun by Cuomo’s office which launched a probe into 15 medical complexes in 8 counties that supplied the city’s water supply. Fines of $3,000-12,000 were given to Margaretville Memorial Hospital, O’Conner Hospital, Countryside Care Center, and Mountainside Residential Care Center and 10 other medical complexes are also under major investigations.
A Putnam Nursing spokesperson issues a statement to the effect that it had cooperated with the investigation and thanked the attorney general for “educating us”.
Cuomo has said that the amount of pharmaceuticals found in drinking water aren’t harmful and are low enough not to pose a problem to the public despite the dumping that went on.
