Update - March 27, 4:37 p.m.: On Wednesday afternoon, HEALTH Director Michael Fine denied the Board of Pharmacy's Consent Order which would give Blais his license back, stating he "disapproved" of the order and considered the agreements outlined within to be insufficient, based on the facts leading up to Blais' suspension. Click here for the story.
March 27, 10:15 a.m.: Jeff and Erin Norman of Barrington are outraged that the state is considering reinstating the license of a former Coventry pharmacist who dispensed morphine to their 11-month-old daughter by mistake.
Leo Blais, a Coventry resident and former state senator, lost his license in March 2012 after he mislabeled morphine that was ingested by two children, including the Norman’s daughter.
"We could have potentially given her something that would have killed her," Erin said in a story on WPRI-TV. "She was kind of swaying back and forth, and I was watching her eyes."
The couple said they didn't speak out about the mistake because Blais was punished quickly by the state and their daughter didn't suffer permanent injury. But they’re very upset now because the RI health department is reviewing his license for possible reinstatement.
Blais operated Pawtuxet Valley Pharmacy for many years in Coventry. He was the chief pharmacist at Apothecare in East Greenwich when he mislabeled the morphine.
The order to suspend his license last year was signed by Michael Fine, RI Director of Health. It said "continuation of Blais' pharmacist license constitutes an imminent threat to the health, welfare and safety of the public.''
Blais' licenses as a pharmacist, a pharmacy registrant and a pharmaceutical wholesaler also were suspended by the Rhode Island Board of Pharmacy in 1999 after violations were found against him that included drug dispensing errors, dispensing without valid prescriptions and poor record keeping. He was eventually placed on a one year probation and allowed to keep his licenses.
He had disciplinary action taken against him again in October 2007 after a routine inspection of pharmacy at the time, Pawtuxet Valley Prescription Center, uncovered poor record keeping, a failure to segregate "outdated, unusable and mislabeled" medications as well as misbranded drugs.
No final action had been taken on Blais's license as of late Tuesday, according to the health department.