Former school nurse pleads guilty to child endangerment

HAVERHILL, Mass. — A woman accused of lying to get a school nurse job in Haverhill pleaded guilty Friday to child endangerment, neglect and fraud charges.

Lisa Haney Bilodeau, 40, applied and interviewing for a nurse position with the Haverhill Public Schools in August 2013. Essex Assistant District Attorney Ashlee Logan said that on the application, she listed an Associate's Degree in Nursing from Northern Essex Community College.

Logan said that during a routine audit in May 2014, Haverhill School officials realized they never had a copy of her nursing license, which is required for any nursing job. They asked her to provide them with a copy, while also conducting an online search of nursing licenses. When the Bilodeau produced a copy of her license, the school administrator immediately recognized it as forged, said Logan, and she was placed on leave.

During her time as the school nurse in Haverhill, Logan said the Bilodeau was assigned to care for two children with special needs.

One of the children, a girl with Downs Syndrome and diabetes, required medical attention due to the Bilodeau's improper administration of her daily insulin shots, said Logan.  The other child, a boy, has cerebral palsy and is non-verbal and uses narcotics to control seizures. The boy’s family said their son had repeated infections near his feeding tube and were concerned Bilodeau wasn't trained to administer the drugs.

Bilodeau pleaded guilty to two counts of reckless endangerment of a child; two counts of permitting injury to a disabled person; forgery of a document; uttering a false writing; identity fraud; and false claim to hold a school degree.

The judge sentenced her to two and a half years in in the House of Correction, with 60 days to be served and the balanced suspended for three years.  While on probation, she must obtain the court’s permission before getting a job in the medical field.

Cox Media Group