Board takes ’emergency’ action against nurse one year after she’s criminally charged

Thirteen months after an Iowa nurse was criminally charged with stealing medication from a nursing home resident, the Iowa Board of Nursing has issued an “emergency order” suspending her license.

Court records indicate licensed practical nurse Tanya Lynn Jordan, 46, of West Liberty, was charged in July 2024 with tampering with records and felony theft of the narcotic hydrocodone.

Prosecutors alleged Jordan was working as a nurse at Cedar County’s Crestview Specialty Care when, on multiple occasions, she charted that she had given a resident hydrocodone but kept the drugs for her own use.

In January, Jordan agreed to a plea deal that in April resulted in a dismissal of the theft charge and a conviction on the misdemeanor tampering-with-records charge. She was sentenced to two years of probation.

Five months later, on Sept. 10, the Iowa Board of Nursing imposed an emergency adjudicative order in the case. Citing the need to prevent or avoid “immediate danger to the public health, safety, or welfare,” the board immediately suspended Jordan’s license to practice nursing in Iowa.

At the same time, the board formally charged Jordan with misappropriating medications of a patient or clinic, falsifying records related to the practice of nursing, committing an act that might adversely affect the welfare of a patient, and being convicted of an offense that directly relates to the practice of nursing.

Iowa Capital Dispatch was unable to reach Jordan for comment.

A disciplinary hearing on the board charges is scheduled for Oct. 10.

This article first appeared in the Iowa Capital Dispatch.