Nursing home worker who stole residents’ painkillers surrenders her license

An Iowa nursing home worker who was criminally charged with stealing residents’ painkillers has agreed to surrender her license.

According to the Iowa Board of Nursing, Tanya Lynn Jordan worked at the Crestview Specialty Care nursing home in West Branch from February 2024 through April 2024. During that time, the board has alleged, Jordan signed out patients’ opioid painkillers, including hydrocodone pills, and took them for herself instead of administering them to patients as she indicated in the patients’ medical records.

After being criminally charged with felony prohibited acts involving controlled substances and tampering with records, Jordan entered a guilty plea to the misdemeanor records charge and was sentenced to 10 days in jail and two years of probation.

Separately, the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing concluded Jordan had committed dependent adult abuse while employed at Crestview Specialty Care, according to the board. The available state records give no indication as to whether the abuse finding is tied to the allegation of narcotics theft or to a separate matter.

In September 2025, the Board of Nursing, citing the criminal case, charged Jordan with misappropriating patient medications, committing an act that might adversely affect a patient’s welfare, falsifying patient records, and being convicted of an offense that directly relates to the duties and responsibilities of the nursing profession. At the same time, the board issued an emergency order suspending Jordan’s license “to prevent or avoid immediate danger to the public health, safety or welfare.”

In agreeing to settle the disciplinary matter with Jordan’s voluntary surrender of her license, the board recently agreed that Jordan will be eligible to apply for reinstatement of her nursing license in one year.

Jordan declined to comment on the matter when contacted Monday by the Iowa Capital Dispatch.

Other Iowa nurses recently sanctioned include:

— Mary Ann Smith of Bayard, a licensed practical nurse. According to the board, she was working at the Accura Healthcare nursing home in Carroll in May 2025 when the home ran out of fentanyl patches – a narcotic painkiller delivered through time-release patches applied to patients’ skin.

State records indicate one of the male residents in Smith’s care was receiving hospice care at Accura and was to receive 12 micrograms of fentanyl per hour, with a new patch to be applied every three days. After the facility’s supply of fentanyl patches was depleted, Smith, without contacting the resident’s physician, allegedly wrote an unauthorized order to suspend the medication for seven days.

The Board of Nursing recently issued Smith a warning, placed her license on probation for one year, and imposed a requirement that she complete 30 hours of educational training on medication management and 30 hours of educational training on her scope of practice as a licensed practical nurse.

— Kalla Marie Wilson of Graettinger, who has practiced largely in Estherville, agreed recently to surrender her license as a registered nurse. According to the board, Wilson was intoxicated when she appeared for work at an unspecified medical facility in September 2024. The board alleges Wilson indicated she had been drinking the night before, celebrating a special occasion. She later signed an agreement to participate in the Iowa Professional Health Program, which assists health professionals who may have substance abuse issues that can impact their ability to practice safely.

According to the board, Wilson then failed to complete mandatory toxicology testing, reported that she had been drinking alcohol, and “asked to voluntarily surrender her registered nurse and licensed practical nurse’s license. State records indicate that in 2024, Wilson was a clinical nursing instructor at Iowa Lakes Community College.

— Nicole Ann McCarty of Inwood, agreed to voluntarily surrender her license. Board records show that in 2010, McCarty was fined $100 for practicing nursing with an inactive license. In 2022, she was accused of pleading guilty to drunken driving and assaulting an emergency medical technician in Lincoln County, South Dakota. She also was alleged to have illegally obtained marijuana for personal use.

The board charged McCarty with excessive use of alcohol and excessive use of drugs and placed her license on probation, which she completed in April 2023. In December 2024, McCarty agreed to enter the Iowa Professional Health Program for professionals with substance abuse issues. McCarty then failed to enroll in the program and agreed to surrender her license to practice nursing in Iowa.

— Katrina Reyes of Burlington, who was issued a warning after the board alleged that while working at a “kidney clinic,” Reyes appeared drowsy and the staff expressed concern that she showed signs of impairment, which Reyes denied. According to the board, Reyes later tested positive for what the board describes only as “a substance for which she was not prescribed.”

The board charged Reyes with practicing nursing while under the influence of alcohol, marijuana or illicit drugs and with engaging in behavior that was contradictory to professional decorum. As a part of a settlement agreement with the board, Reyes has agreed to enroll in the Iowa Professional Health Program for professionals with substance abuse issues.

— Jessica Lynn Emerson of Albia, whose license was recently suspended by the board. According to the board, Emerson was working as a nurse at Wesley Acres’ Cottages at Hearthstone, a senior living community in Pella, when she stole narcotic pain medications for herself. Police records indicate Emerson was accused of taking dozens of narcotic Oxycodone pills belonging to residents and swapping them for Zofran pills she had stolen from a different resident.

Emerson was criminally charged with three counts of felony prohibited acts, one count of prohibited acts involving prescription drugs, and one count of wanton neglect. On Feb. 19, 2026, Emerson pleaded guilty to two felony counts of prohibited acts and the remaining charges were dismissed. She has yet to be sentenced in the case.

The Board of Nursing charged Emerson with misappropriating patient medications and committing an act that might adversely affect a patient’s welfare. As a part of a recent settlement agreement, Emerson’s license was suspended and will be eligible for reinstatement once she completes a substance abuse evaluation, completes any treatment that is recommended, and demonstrates a year of sobriety. After her license is reinstated, it will be placed on probation for two years.

— Faith Anderson of Boone, whose license was placed on probation for two years. The board alleges that in June 2025, when Anderson was working as a licensed practical nurse at the Eastern Star Masonic Home in Boone, she began signing documents using the title of “registered nurse,” although she does not have an RN’s license. The board charged Anderson with misrepresenting her credentials or licensure status.

As part of her settlement agreement with the board, Anderson agreed to two years’ probation and also agreed to complete 60 hours of educational training in patient confidentiality and ethics. In 2013, Anderson agreed to complete 45 hours of educational training on critical thinking and ethical decision making – although the available board records give no indication as to what charges gave rise to that action.

— Spencer Duane Elmer of Waukee, who was issued a warning by the board. The board alleges that in April 2025, Elmer accessed, and then exported, patient information from his employer’s medical records. Elmer then resigned and used his personal email account to send a mass message to many of his former patients, informing them of his resignation and his plans going forward, the board alleges.

Elmer carbon copied all of the patients on each email, resulting in the disclosure of each patient’s name and email address to all of the other patients — a violation of the federal Health Information Portability and Accountability Act. The Board of Nursing has not publicly identified Elmer’s former employer, but as part of his settlement agreement with the board, Elmer has accepted a warning and agreed to complete 30 hours of educational training on patient confidentiality and 30 hours of educational training on ethics.