A company that operates acute care hospitals around the country says it has fired a pharmacist whose license has been suspended by The Ohio Board of Pharmacy.  

The pharmacy board says Ernest Perrin admitted he personally diluted intravenous medication for the drugs Cubicin and Tygacil so patients wouldn't get the full dose.  The drugs are antibiotics.  If and how Perrin may have personally profited is unclear. 

The board tells 21 News that Ernest Perrin admitted what he did and said he did it to cut costs.  

We also don't know how many received the drugs but the board did tell us from roughly January 1 through February 23rd of this year, nine vials of Cubicin where turned into 105 vials and other drugs were given to patients at about half their strength.  

Perrin worked at Select Specialty Hospital which is located on the 7th floor of St. Elizabeth Hospital in Boardman but is not affiliated with St. E's.  

Specialty Select operates more than 100 acute care sites across the country.  

A spokesperson from Select Medical, who we contacted, stressed patient safety and later added Perrin had been fired and they couldn't comment further because it's now a legal issue. 

So what about patients who may have been treated with the diluted drugs?  

One pharmacist 21 News talked to says the drugs in question are extremely expensive and not giving the correct dose can clearly put the patient's life at risk since they are high-risk patients, to begin with. 

"With something like an antibiotic, if we're diluting the dose and the patient is not getting the correct amount, it's possible it won't enter into the therapeutic window and it's not going to kill the bacteria like it's supposed to and that bacteria can develop resistance," said AJ Caraballo, pharmacy manager of Hometown Pharmacy in Youngstown.

The State Board of Pharmacy is considered a law enforcement agency so they could consider criminal charges against Perrin once they finish their investigation.