Northwest Florida State College has released its findings in a 15-page report following an investigation into why there were controlled and uncontrolled ‘live’ medications on the school’s property in various storage locations accessible to the public. Live medications, according to the NWFSC report, are drugs with active ingredients used to treat various conditions. A source with knowledge of the situation said modern best practices do not use these in teaching settings such as nursing schools.
The institution’s leadership says they moved quickly to investigate after they found more than one hundred types of medicines labeled as everything from over-the-counter drugs to controlled substances like morphine.
A statement from the College says that the drugs never came in contact with students and no injuries were caused by their presence. The statement also emphasized that corrective action has been taken and that new procedures and a zero-tolerance policy have been implemented to ensure the issue does not happen again.
A statement from the College about the findings of the report said in part that they had,
“determined that the [Nursing] program stored real medications in its facility without a basis for having those materials in an educational setting and lacked procedures for oversight and disposal.
The College is thankful to the faculty and staff who first reported their concerns and to the reviewers who acted swiftly and professionally to assess the matter. Our students continued their education without interruption during this review, thanks to the dedicated work of the nursing faculty. Importantly, there were no reports of any injuries or other incidents involving students or staff.
The College followed proper standards to identify, remove, and engage a vendor for disposal of all materials that were not appropriate for the educational setting; implemented a zero-tolerance policy for the future; and enhanced oversight and training for faculty and staff.”
RELATED: A look inside NWFSC Nursing’s newly upgraded facility in Niceville
Two of the members of the College of Nursing’s leadership team, the Dean of Allied Health, Dr. Charlotte Kuss, and the Director of the Nursing Program, Dr. Tanya Beauregard, no longer work at the College. One, Kuss, had a previously planned retirement, and the other, Beauregard, resigned.
According to the investigative report, which also alleged unsubstantiated claims concerning interdepartmental professional disputes, a whistleblower reported the drugs on the campus up their chain of command to the Director of the Northwest Florida State College Nursing Program in July – that same report says nothing was done until the whistleblower went to President Mel Ponder with the complaint on October 31. Ponder immediately ordered an investigation of the complaint.
The school’s investigation found that both Beauregard and Kuss knew of at least one parcel of medication as early as July of 2025, but did not properly dispose of it or notify their chains of command about the issue. The investigation also found that at least one of the leaders told a subordinate to dispose of the medications in a manner inconsistent with best practices for disposal of live medications.
After returning from the Thanksgiving and Winter Breaks, the college says they ensured all live medication was removed from the Nursing School. On March 2, 2026, the College used its contracted medical waste disposal provider to destroy the drugs and provided NWFSC with a receipt for the disposal.
The final report was submitted to President Ponder on April 1, 2026, and released to Mid Bay News the morning of April 2, 2026, following a records request.
Since the start of the investigation in October, the school has made the following changes to its leadership, policies, and procedures.
The College graduates about 50 new nurses in May. A statement from the College said it was “proud to be a partner in meeting our local healthcare workforce needs.”
Last September, the Nursing program moved into its newly renovated facility and saw a 10 percent growth in enrollment. The school has a higher-than-state-and-national-average rate of nursing students passing the state licensure.
A new Dean of Allied Health has been selected and will start in mid-May.
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