A federal whistleblower lawsuit accuses Heritage Valley Health System emergency room nurse Nolan Chismire of stealing narcotics for years, falsifying records, and causing at least two patient deaths while hospital leaders allegedly ignored repeated complaints
For years. nurses say they watched Nolan Chismire move through the emergency department as if rules didn’t apply—entering restricted spaces. appearing impaired. and leaving behind signs that narcotics had been taken. Now, a whistleblower lawsuit filed in federal court claims the pattern didn’t just put patients at risk. It contributed to deaths.
The lawsuit, unsealed this month, was filed against Chismire, a Heritage Valley Health System emergency department nurse in Sewickley, and the hospital system. It also names hospital leadership including CEO Norm Mitry and Chief Nursing Officer Linda Homyk, along with other supervisors.
In the complaint. current and former nurses accuse Chismire. 38. of stealing patient medications and causing the deaths of at least two people “because he was high. ” according to the allegations. The suit identifies a 70-year-old woman and a 47-year-old man as victims. and says another patient faced life-threatening conditions due to Chismire’s alleged drug abuse.
It describes the conduct as long-running, saying, “Chismire’s conduct is frequent, pervasive and ongoing.” It further alleges the hospital ignored repeated warnings and retaliated against nurses who reported misconduct.
Messages left Tuesday morning with hospital leadership and with Chismire were not returned.
The case centers on what nurses say happened when they raised concerns inside the emergency department. The lawsuit alleges Chismire obtained his nursing license in 2009 and began working at Heritage Valley in 2017. It claims hospital officials knew about his troubled history. including that he had been fired from two previous positions and that his nursing license had been suspended for three years due to stealing drugs.
The complaint alleges hospital leaders took no meaningful action even after reports began early in his tenure. It says staff nurses—including his wife—reported Chismire’s behavior to supervisors and were “turned away.” It also alleges at least six nurses. in addition to the plaintiffs. reported his behavior to Homyk.
One incident described in the lawsuit is stark. Nurses allegedly saw Chismire enter the staff bathroom and then exit “high. ” after which emergency department nurses entered the room and saw and photographed evidence the complaint says was tied to narcotics misuse. The lawsuit says the photos showed “a freshly used orange tourniquet. ” used injectable needle syringes. and “empty Valium intravenous vials” Chismire had used seconds before to inject a stolen controlled substance.
When those photos were brought to Homyk, the lawsuit says she chastised the nurses and ordered them to “‘stand down.’”
The lawsuit also accuses Chismire of falsifying medical records to show controlled substances had been prescribed when they had not, and of stealing for his own use leftover medications from vials that were not completely emptied.
One plaintiff, Samantha Gallo, who earned her nursing degree in 2022, is still employed at Heritage Valley, the complaint says. Another plaintiff, Jennifer Duckett, has 18 years of experience and says she was terminated last year after reporting the misconduct.
In addition to retaliation allegations, the lawsuit asserts claims under the federal False Claims Act.
“For at least eight years, (Heritage Valley Health System) C-suite executives, ED physicians and ED nursing supervisors have had actual knowledge of Chismire’s crimes and done nothing to intervene to stop them,” the lawsuit says.
It further alleges failures to report misconduct to federal agencies. The complaint asserts hospital officials did not report the alleged misconduct to the Drug Enforcement Administration or the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services as required.
The lawsuit also alleges steps taken inside the hospital to conceal evidence. It says hospital officials removed a camera from the controlled-substance room that would have shown drugs being improperly removed. It claims the CEO cut police staffing in the emergency department. And it alleges Homyk lied to the state board of nursing in 2024 when board members arrived to inquire about Chismire.
The complaint points to potential financial pressure tied to a corporate transition. It asserts hospital leadership feared criminal and civil liability for Chismire’s misconduct and says the allegations could harm Heritage Valley’s ongoing merger with Allegheny Health Network. from which officials expect large bonuses. The lawsuit quotes that fear in its own terms. saying. “(D)isclosure of their crimes would undermine the transition and thereby eviscerate the large golden-parachute payments they covet.”.
AHN declined to comment.
The suit further alleges four unreported “sentinel events,” situations where a patient was exposed to death or serious harm because of a patient safety event not related to an underlying condition.
In fall 2023. the lawsuit says Chismire was working triage in the emergency department but failed to recognize or treat severe lacerations on a patient’s hands from a machete. It says he sent the patient back to the waiting room. unattended. for two hours. until another nurse found him with life-threatening blood pressure and pulse from blood loss.
Then, in spring 2024, the lawsuit says a 70-year-old woman arrived at the emergency department for treatment. The complaint alleges Chismire failed to provide attention for hours and later made a medication error. It describes what it says happened in blunt terms. stating. “Chismire. who was high at the time and then rushing to cover his prolonged absence. made a medication error that ultimately killed this Medicare participant.” The suit alleges the hospital system failed to report what happened as required by federal law.
The third sentinel event described involves a 47-year-old man who was in alcohol withdrawal. The lawsuit asserts Chismire failed to provide proper care, the man left the hospital, fell in the parking lot, suffered a head injury, and later died after being transferred to Allegheny General Hospital.
The fourth incident, the lawsuit says, occurred in December 2024 and involved a patient who arrived in severe pain but reported never feeling relief despite Chismire reportedly providing morphine.
Duckett is quoted in the complaint through her recollections of repeated breakdowns in care: it says she remembers hundreds of instances when doctors and nurses were searching for Chismire for more than an hour because he was not providing patient care, while families and patients complained.
The allegations also trace back years to earlier disciplinary actions and legal trouble.
According to the state Board of Nursing, Chismire was fired from Villa St. Joseph in Baden in 2009 after eight months due to alleged drug addiction. The lawsuit says he was fired from Allegheny General Hospital in 2012 after five weeks on the job. following allegations he diverted morphine. fentanyl and Ativan. It says AGH reported him to the state board of nursing and that he entered treatment at Gateway Rehabilitation Center in 2011.
The complaint alleges he continued to relapse. and that at one point he broke into his parents’ home and stole from them. It says his mother filed criminal charges. and agreed to drop the charges when. in spring 2012. Chismire agreed to enter a 14-month residential program. The lawsuit says he completed that program on May 31, 2013.
Chismire petitioned the state nursing board for reinstatement in December 2013. Nearly a year later, the petition was approved, the lawsuit says, under strict conditions including a three-year probationary period.
According to state records Tuesday, the Board of Nursing shows Chismire’s license as active with an expiration date of Oct. 31, 2026.
Criminal court records included in the case state Chismire was convicted of DUI stemming from an arrest in October 2011 in Beaver County, and that he was sentenced to two years on intermediate punishment with electronic home monitoring.
In the lawsuit, a central claim runs through every allegation: that hospital leadership had warning after warning, and that those warnings didn’t lead to intervention. Instead, the complaint says, the response was avoidance and concealment—leaving patients to suffer the consequences.
Heritage Valley Health System Nolan Chismire lawsuit whistleblower emergency department nurse patient deaths false claims act Drug Enforcement Administration Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Linda Homyk Norm Mitry Samantha Gallo Jennifer Duckett Allegheny Health Network