Drugs heists shows area hospitals' security not 'bulletproof'

As the demand for black market narcotics grows, so has the level of hospital security around drugs. Safeguards at Chattanooga hospitals include restricted rooms, heavy surveillance, pill counts performed each shift and dispensing machines that track every drug withdrawal. In spite of all this, 26-year-old Ryan Epperson was still able to repeatedly foil security for weeks at all three of Chattanooga's major downtown hospitals to steal painkillers like Demerol, fentanyl and morphine, according to an affidavit. "The hospitals may have had every security measure in place, but they may not have anticipated someone so brazen," said Tennessee Board of Pharmacy President Reggie Dillard.