Susan E. Kron, a former Anne Arundel Medical Center employee accused of giving three newborns dangerous doses of morphine last month, plans to fight criminal charges and continue her work as a pharmacist, her lawyer said yesterday.
Ms. Kron, 45, of Crofton was charged last week with reckless endangerment and practicing without a license after hospital administrators accused her of accidentally drugging three newborns in the critical-care nursery.
The babies were placed on ventilators Jan. 31 after Ms. Kron allegedly filled at least six syringes with morphine instead of heparin, a common blood thinner used to flush intravenous tubes, hospital officials said.
Ms. Kron had worked for the hospital for nine years.
Officials at the Annapolis hospital say none of the babies sustained permanent injury from the incident. Two of the babies have been sent home. The other baby, born several weeks premature, remains in the hospital.
Last week, hospital administrators fired Ms. Kron and accepted the resignation of pharmacy director Larry Bierley.
If convicted, Ms. Kron, could be sentenced to a maximum of five years in prison and a $5,000 fine for reckless endangerment. She also failed to renew her pharmacist's license after it expired in September and could be sentenced to a maximum of one year in prison and $1,000 fine for practicing without a license.
T. Joseph Touhey, the lawyer for Ms. Kron, said his client's mistake in the critical-care nursery was a common one and should not keep Ms. Kron from practicing in the future.
"She has an absolutely flawless past and she's highly respected," said Mr. Touhey, who will represent the Crofton pharmacist when the case goes to trial. "There's no question as to her ability and she should be granted her license immediately."
He also said the case has no business in criminal court.
Urine samples from the three newborns showed they received morphine in the exact dosage used for heparin.
Nurses told investigators they had asked Ms. Kron to fill some extra syringes with heparin. Investigators suspected something might be wrong the syringes because shortly after the needles were used, the infants suffered respiratory distress, hospital officials said.
The Maryland Board of Pharmacy also is investigating Ms. Kron and, depending on the results of the probe, could refuse to renew her license.
Ms. Kron's Maryland license contains no prior violations. This was not the case when she practiced in Virginia in the early 1980s.
In 1983, the Virginia Board of Pharmacy audited her and fined her $250 for failing to maintain complete and accurate records as head of the Alexandria Medical Arts Pharmacy in the early 1980s.
The audit found shortages and excesses of several drugs considered highly addictive, including Percodan, Demerol and opium tincture, according to a consent order filed with the board.
Ms. Kron is not the only hospital employee to hire a lawyer. Annapolis lawyer David Levin said Dr. Sandra Lee Loeb, head of the hospital's neonatal unit, hired him after lawyers for one of the families suggested the hospital may be responsible for injuring one of the infants.
A lawyer representing one of the newborns said the baby appears less energetic than before the morphine dose and may be experiencing signs of more serious neurological damage, Mr. Levin said. The premature baby received roughly a teaspoon of morphine, he said.