KEY WEST, Fla. – A grand jury has indicted the medical director and a division chief of a South Florida fire department for their involvement in a flight nurse drug theft scandal, prosecutors said Friday.
Dr. Sandra Schwemmer, 72, the medical director of Monroe County Fire Rescue and the Trauma Star air ambulance service, and MCFR Division Chief Andrea Thompson are each facing multiple criminal charges in the Florida Keys.
Recommended Videos
Thompson, 45, of Marathon, oversaw MCFR’s EMS and Trauma Star division.
Former Trauma Star Chief Flight Nurse Lynda Rusinowski was indicted last week. The 58-year-old was initially arrested in September 2022.
The indictments came as authorities continued a long-term investigation into the theft of narcotics from the Trauma Star program.
Officials with the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said at the time that MCFR had contacted investigators “about missing narcotics and discrepancies in their controlled substances logs” and that detectives discovered that “Rusinowski stole Morphine and Versed and then altered or falsified records in an attempt to conceal the thefts.”
Authorities said at the time that Rusinowski admitted to stealing the drugs.
“This case, along with last week’s indictment, underscores our commitment to holding public servants accountable for their actions,” Monroe County State Attorney Dennis Ward said in a news release Friday.
Ward said the charges “reflect serious violations of public trust, and our office will pursue justice with the full weight of the law.”
“No one is above the law, especially those entrusted with public safety and the welfare of our community,” he said.
Schwemmer, of Boca Raton, faces one count each of official misconduct, providing false information to law enforcement and altering patient records.
She’s been a licensed physician in Florida since 1979 with no disciplinary record. Her bond was set at $100,000.
Thompson, who was recognized in 2021 for her two decades of service to the department, faces nine charges: Three counts of witness tampering, two counts each of official misconduct and tampering with physical evidence and one count each of providing false information to law enforcement and of altering patient records.
The indictments, obtained by Local 10 News on Friday, don’t provide additional details on their alleged roles in the case.
An MCFR spokesperson said Friday afternoon the county is in the process of terminating a contract with Schwemmer’s company effective immediately. It was paid $124,842 to oversee MCFR paramedics and Trauma Star flight nurses.
“Key West Fire Rescue Medical Director Dr. Antonio Gandia has agreed to step in and become Monroe County’s temporary medical director and will assist MCFR in any capacity needed,” a county statement reads.
Meanwhile, Thompson has been suspended without “pending a pre-determination hearing,” which has not yet been set.
Thompson made $151,127 per year in her position.
In a statement, Kevin Wilson, Monroe County’s acting administrator, called the charges “serious” and said county officials were taking them “very seriously.”
“We will follow due process during our internal investigations while we await formal court proceedings,” Wilson said. “Our first priority is to ensure that the County’s emergency services continue to provide excellent care to our residents and visitors without interruptions.”
According to online records, Thompson was booked into the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office Key West jail facility just before 3 p.m. on Friday; Schwemmer was booked into MCSO’s Plantation Key jail facility just after 5 p.m.
A week after her arrest, Schwemmer’s attorney released a statement to Local 10 News defending her record.
“The allegations against Dr. Schwemmer are totally inconsistent with someone who has dedicated most of her career to improving life-saving medical services in Monroe County and throughout South Florida. She has fully cooperated with investigating missing medications from the air rescue hangar and will continue to do so. She steadfastly maintains that she has not done any wrongdoing in this matter and looks forward to clearing her name in court. I would encourage people not to rush to judgment on these allegations and allow the justice system to run its course.
Dr. Schwemmer has a distinguished career in the field of medicine and has faithfully and successfully served the residents of Monroe County for the past 30 years with an unblemished record. Highly respected for her work in emergency medicine and trauma care in Florida and nationally, she is credited as one of the founding leaders of the Trauma Star air medical program, which has become a model program for the state of Florida. Over the past 20 years, she helped build it into one of the busiest air medical programs in the state with as many as 1,000 flights per year to get people life-saving medical care.
-Dr. Schwemmer’s relationships with Miami hospitals have allowed Monroe County residents and tourists immediate access to care. These relationships were built upon her integrity and years of quality performance and medical care. The programs allowing patients immediate access to mainland hospitals would not exist but for Dr. Schwemmer’s longstanding relationships with these institutions.
-Her relationship with Miami hospitals opened the opportunity to transfer high-risk obstetrics patients directly to specialized centers upon notification of a pregnant woman in need of fetal-maternal medical care not available in the Keys. This has allowed pregnant women who require critical care before delivery to be transferred quickly to Miami without requiring prior authorization and acceptance from the hospital. This speeds up treatment for mom and baby during a critical time that could be life-threatening.
-In 2008, she founded the program to transfer time-sensitive STROKE and STEMI or heart-attack patients directly to stroke and cardiac centers where immediate specialty care can be delivered. This was before the state had initiated a common stroke protocol. Initially utilizing a telemedicine call with field paramedics, patients in critical need were quickly identified, diagnosed, and transferred without prior authorization for advanced care in Miami. Without her work, the STROKE and STEMI alert programs using the Trauma Star helicopters might not exist today.
-She worked diligently in the early years with the Monroe County Sheriff and other county leaders to support a referendum that allows Monroe County residents access to appropriate medical facilities using Trauma Star without consideration of a patient’s ability to pay. This provides them helicopter transportation during emergencies, which can make the difference between life or death because the Keys are a rural area often stymied by traffic.
Dr. Schwemmer has a long history of public service and volunteering to strengthen and improve the medical field. During her storied career, she has been appointed to over 20 boards, advisory councils, and task forces. She served on the Florida Board of Osteopathic Medicine starting in the late 1980s and again in 2015, when she was twice elected board chair.
In 2017, she received the Willoughby Leadership Award from the National ACOEP recognizing her contributions to shaping the future of women in emergency medicine.
In 2023, she received a Years of Service Award from the Board of Osteopathic Medicine for her years of contributions to the citizens of the State of Florida.”
Kader Scull, Schwemmer's attorney