Posted on 12/04/2004 9:09:16 AM PST by Rakkasan1
A woman who allegedly dressed as a nurse and ran an unauthorized flu shot clinic at Augsburg College this week was arrested Friday by Minneapolis police.
Michelle Torgerson, 33, was arrested about 6:30 p.m. at a relative's home in Belgrade, Minn., 95 miles northwest of the Twin Cities in Stearn County. "We feel very confident we have the right person," said Minneapolis police spokesman Ron Reier.
At least 28 people are believed to have paid $20 each for what they thought were flu vaccinations. The woman who administered the shots claimed to be a temporary nurse from the American Heart Association — but that agency says it does not give flu shots.
The woman appeared to follow safety procedures, and no illnesses have been reported.
"We'll be looking into what connection (the suspect) had with the medical world, if she had any," Reier said. "We're going to try to find out what it was she was injecting into people."
The Minnesota Board of Nursing Web site shows that a Michelle Lynn Torgerson, born Nov. 14, 1971, is a licensed practical nurse whose certification expires in November 2005. She was originally licensed in 1998. No disciplinary history is noted.
Driver records show that a woman with that name and birth date lives in Belgrade.
Police recovered evidence from Torgerson's vehicle and will have the Minnesota Department of Health help identify the items, Reier said.
The injection scare left the impostor's customers rushing to their doctors, and it raised anxiety on the Minneapolis campus of about 3,000 students.
"We don't have any reports of anyone becoming ill," said John Pack, Augsburg director of safety and security.
(Excerpt) Read more at twincities.com ...
I wonder if that history will remain without any disciplinary action?
"A woman who allegedly dressed as a nurse and ran ..."
Her occupation is nurse! Maybe there was harm intented here but that is not obvious. Minnesota is on the Canadian border. Sher could have gotten flu shot suplies from over the border.
This maybe more about government control than any evil.
I don't see where it is a government control issue at all. The woman forged documents and presented herself as someone she was not. In our state LPNs are very limited in there authorization to give injections. Usually that is left to RN's. Even if she was giving a flu shots she may have been practicing outside the scope of her license. There is no evidence she got vaccine from Canada so no one knows what she really injected the student with. Would you like a shot from a total stranger with forged documents and an unknown substance to inject you? Let's hope the injections were only distilled water. At worst it could be something containing HIV. This is a crime plan and simple and has nothing to do with overreaching government authority
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