GREENEVILLE, Tenn. (WJHL) – A registered nurse from Greeneville who had a blood alcohol content four times the legal limit while working at a home for developmentally disabled people was among several area people whose sanctions appear in the latest Tennessee Department of Health disciplinary report. The list also includes a surgeon who withheld information related to an alcohol-related incident in Norton, Va.
Shona Parkins, a RN, worked night shift at a supported living home called “Mountain Breeze” (location unlisted). On Feb. 1, supervisors suspected she was impaired and she was reported to be “staggering,” according to the TDH report.
After the alcohol blood test, Parkins admitted ingesting vodka prior to reporting for work. Her license was suspended effective Nov. 20 for several causes, including unprofessional conduct and being unfit or incompetent by reason of negligence, habits or other cause. Parkins has the option to undergo evaluation by the Tennessee Professional Assistance Program (TnPAP). If recommended, she could return to practice with monitoring and a probation of at least three years.
To have her license fully reinstated, Parkins would have to obtain recommendation and demonstrate at least two years of documented continuous sobriety.
Other actions involving local practitioners included:
- Dr. Lance Dozier, a surgeon at Norton Community Hospital, was reprimanded and fined $400 for failing to report several items on his Tennessee practitioner profile. Dozier was arrested for driving while intoxicated in Virginia in April 2018, while on call at two different hospitals. The charge was reduced to reckless driving.
The Virginia Board of Medicine found Dozier “unable to practice with reasonable skill and safety due to illness or substance abuse,” according to a June 28, 2019 consent order. Dozier entered into the Virginia Health Practitioners Monitoring Program after a June 28, 2019 consent order with the board. That order reported that Dozier had tested a .214 on a preliminary breath test but refused a follow up test.
The TDH reprimand cites Dozier’s failure to include the reckless driving conviction on his practitioner profile and his answering “no” to the criminal conviction question on his 2019 Tennessee medical renewal application. It also cites a failure to include a 2014 malpractice liability settlement of $150,000 on his practitioner profile and a 2015 settlement of $175,000.
- Penny Williams-Cordeiro, an advanced practice nurse who worked at Williams Primary Care in Kingsport, Tenn., had her practice license retired (equivalent to revoked) in a consent order dated Nov. 20. This followed a health department investigation of the practice and review of its records that were created and maintained by Williams-Cordeiro.
The investigation uncovered a host of findings, including that Williams-Cordeiro prescribed narcotics and other controlled substances “in amounts and/or for durations not medically necessary, advisable, or justified for a diagnosed condition.” Also cited were failure to order imaging or identify the cause of pain, rather treating complaints such as “back pain” or “chronic pain,” and failure to inquire into potential substance abuse history.
A total of 15 findings related to the claim of Williams-Cordeiro overprescribing and not following through on many standard requirements related to treating and monitoring patients who are prescribed controlled substances. If Williams-Cordeiro ever applies for and is granted a new license to practice as a nurse or other medical professional in Tennessee, she will be barred from prescribing controlled substances or working in a pain management clinic.
- Cody Peeler, a pharmacist for a Kingsport drug store who dispensed some of his own prescriptions early in late 2018 and early 2019 and also diverted generic Adderall tablets. Peeler’s pharmacy license was suspended for a minimum of six months effective Nov. 5.
Peeler also must sign a monitoring agreement and contract with the Tennessee Pharmacy Recovery Network unless TPRN recommends return to active practice without a monitoring agreement. Peeler’s license would be probationary during monitoring.
