08-06-2009, 08:53 PM
Two U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration officials were seen leaving a Waukegan drug treatment clinic Thursday as a Lake County state's attorney's investigation continued into the methadone-related death of a former patient at the facility.
The state's attorney's office asked the federal agency for help after learning that Dr. Richard Keller, the Lake County coroner, prescribed the drug to the victim at the Green Dragonfly clinic, where he is medical director, according to a DEA spokesman.
They are investigating whether Keller and clinic staff followed proper procedures in administering methadone to Steve Vaughn, 30, of Lindenhurst, who died Dec. 3 after mixing the prescribed drug with Xanax, a lethal combination, according to State's Atty. Michael Waller.
Keller drew attention because he formally investigated the death as coroner, putting him in the unusual position of ruling on the death of his own patient.
Usually, the coroner determines if foul play led to a death. In this case, Keller said he concluded that Vaughn took Xanax, which was not prescribed to him, against medical advice.
Methadone is a powerful synthetic narcotic used to treat heroin addicts, but is also abused and sold on the streets.
Vaughn's mother, Jill, said her son was addicted to Xanax, not heroin, and should have been tested for it before he was given methadone at Green Dragonfly.
On Thursday, a woman who answered the door at the clinic after its noon closing time said the DEA officials were conducting a routine inspection. The officials declined to describe the purpose of their visit.
The woman, who wore dragonfly earrings, said the clinic owners, Sandra Hay and Mary Olloway, were not available.
Keller, a former emergency room physician, said it was business as usual Thursday at the clinic, which treats nearly 90 patients, he said. Keller confirmed that the clinic has responded to a recent state inspection report that documented several violations, including the failure to report Vaughn's death as required.
The clinic recently hired a new substance abuse counselor in response to one of the state's recommendations, Keller said.
"The state did find a few things on the state inspection that were quickly remediated," he said.
Keller said that neither he nor the two owners had any experience in operating a methadone clinic before opening the facility in October.
They launched the clinic, he said, after Olloway's nephew died of a drug overdose while on a waiting list for another treatment clinic's services.
The state's attorney's office asked the federal agency for help after learning that Dr. Richard Keller, the Lake County coroner, prescribed the drug to the victim at the Green Dragonfly clinic, where he is medical director, according to a DEA spokesman.
They are investigating whether Keller and clinic staff followed proper procedures in administering methadone to Steve Vaughn, 30, of Lindenhurst, who died Dec. 3 after mixing the prescribed drug with Xanax, a lethal combination, according to State's Atty. Michael Waller.
Keller drew attention because he formally investigated the death as coroner, putting him in the unusual position of ruling on the death of his own patient.
Usually, the coroner determines if foul play led to a death. In this case, Keller said he concluded that Vaughn took Xanax, which was not prescribed to him, against medical advice.
Methadone is a powerful synthetic narcotic used to treat heroin addicts, but is also abused and sold on the streets.
Vaughn's mother, Jill, said her son was addicted to Xanax, not heroin, and should have been tested for it before he was given methadone at Green Dragonfly.
On Thursday, a woman who answered the door at the clinic after its noon closing time said the DEA officials were conducting a routine inspection. The officials declined to describe the purpose of their visit.
The woman, who wore dragonfly earrings, said the clinic owners, Sandra Hay and Mary Olloway, were not available.
Keller, a former emergency room physician, said it was business as usual Thursday at the clinic, which treats nearly 90 patients, he said. Keller confirmed that the clinic has responded to a recent state inspection report that documented several violations, including the failure to report Vaughn's death as required.
The clinic recently hired a new substance abuse counselor in response to one of the state's recommendations, Keller said.
"The state did find a few things on the state inspection that were quickly remediated," he said.
Keller said that neither he nor the two owners had any experience in operating a methadone clinic before opening the facility in October.
They launched the clinic, he said, after Olloway's nephew died of a drug overdose while on a waiting list for another treatment clinic's services.