CHAMBERLAIN, S.D. (KELO) — A Yankton woman was sentenced for obtaining a controlled substance while working as a registered nurse at a Chamberlain hospital.

Between June 19, 2021, and September 11, 2021, 55-year-old Lisa Merrigan, tampered with a vial of fentanyl citrate stored by the hospital. She removed the fentanyl for injection from the vial and replaced most of it with saline solution. Merrigan returned the tampered vial to storage knowing the diluted fentanyl could be dispensed to surgical patients to treat severe pain at the hospital.

Fentanyl citrate is a Schedule II controlled substance that is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use to relieve severe pain during and after surgery. The fentanyl in the tampered vial was so diluted that had the vial been dispensed to a surgical patient, the pain management would have been minimal or unsuccessful.

Merrigan was sentenced to two years of probation on September 11, 2023.

We checked the South Dakota Board of Nursing website Wednesday morning, and it still lists her as an active nurse.