By JEN McCAFFERY
THE ROANOKE TIMES

   The chief of police for the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Salem has acknowledged that there have been numerous discrepancies in accounting for prescription narcotics dispensed there over the last 17 months.

    This disclosure was made public Wednesday after law enforcement officials arrested a pharmacist at the Medical Center, Joann Ruth Bedsaul, and charged her with possession with intent to distribute OxyContin and oxycodone.

    Bedsaul, 42, of Roanoke, had worked as a pharmacist there for 18 years, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig "Jake" Jacobsen. Bedsaul appeared in federal court Wednesday on the charge and was released on $25,000 bond.

    Bedsaul did not return calls for comment.

    Medical Center Police Chief Dale Hendley pointed out the recent missing narcotics in a criminal complaint filed in federal court.

    Officials at the Medical Center could not be reached to comment on how numerous the discrepancies were or on whether other narcotics besides the prescription painkiller OxyContin were missing.

    On Sept. 22, two VA pharmacists, Stephanie Starkey and Badruddoza Mirza, prepared a prescription for 90 20-mg. tablets of OxyContin and 30 5-mg. tablets of another form of an oxycodone-related medication, according to the criminal complaint. Oxycodone, which is opium-based, is the active ingredient in OxyContin.

    Starkey placed the prescriptions on the desk of the medical center's outpatient pharmacy supervisor, Kathryn Vuich, to be mailed to an unidentified patient, the complaint says. Six minutes later, Bedsaul was caught on videotape picking up the prescriptions off the desk, looking around, and leaving the pharmacy, according to the complaint.

    Two days later, the patient called to say that he had not received the prescription.

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