Woman Arrested In Nursing Home Impostor Case
POSTED: 10:10 am PDT August 22,
2008
UPDATED: 5:33 pm PDT August 22,
2008
BEAVERTON, Ore. -- A woman was arrested under suspicion of posing as an employee at a nursing home, police said.Theresa Kim Smith, 27, is a Certified Nursing Assistant, but as of Friday her license had been suspended, according to a report from the Oregon State Board of Nursing.According to the report, a complaint was filed against Smith, alleging that she had removed Fentanyl patches from six residents at the Laurelhurst Village nursing facility between July 7 and July 18.
Woman Arrested In Nursing Home Impostor CasePolice said Smith was posing as a nurse at the Maryville Nursing Home to steal drug patches from the patients.Smith was seen posing as a nurse at the facility at least three times, police said.She was caught on a security camera at the home and identified after a resident's relative, who didn't recognize her, confronted her, police said.Officials at the nursing facility later discovered that three Fentanyl patches were unaccounted for, according to the OSBN report.Fentanyl is a pain medication which is similar to morphine, according to WebMD.According to the report, Smith had been involved with various issues related to Fentanyl and missing patches at more than five different nursing facilities.Smith most recently worked at Care Center East where a witness told the board that a Fentanyl patch went missing from a patient Smith was assigned to and she told facility officials that the patient ate it, according to the report.Beaverton Police said Smith was interviewed and subsequently arrested Wednesday at Care Center East Nursing Home where she was working.Care Center East released a statement that they had done a background check when they hired Smith and there was nothing revealed that would prevent the business from hiring her.According to the statement, they "terminated her employment" when they learned of the charges against her.She will have her first court appearance Aug. 28 at 10:30 a.m. in Hillsboro.Smith was arrested on charges of burglary, criminal mistreatment, theft and possession of a controlled substance, police said.Related:
Impostor Portraying Nurse, Police Say
Woman Arrested In Nursing Home Impostor CasePolice said Smith was posing as a nurse at the Maryville Nursing Home to steal drug patches from the patients.Smith was seen posing as a nurse at the facility at least three times, police said.She was caught on a security camera at the home and identified after a resident's relative, who didn't recognize her, confronted her, police said.Officials at the nursing facility later discovered that three Fentanyl patches were unaccounted for, according to the OSBN report.Fentanyl is a pain medication which is similar to morphine, according to WebMD.According to the report, Smith had been involved with various issues related to Fentanyl and missing patches at more than five different nursing facilities.Smith most recently worked at Care Center East where a witness told the board that a Fentanyl patch went missing from a patient Smith was assigned to and she told facility officials that the patient ate it, according to the report.Beaverton Police said Smith was interviewed and subsequently arrested Wednesday at Care Center East Nursing Home where she was working.Care Center East released a statement that they had done a background check when they hired Smith and there was nothing revealed that would prevent the business from hiring her.According to the statement, they "terminated her employment" when they learned of the charges against her.She will have her first court appearance Aug. 28 at 10:30 a.m. in Hillsboro.Smith was arrested on charges of burglary, criminal mistreatment, theft and possession of a controlled substance, police said.Related:Impostor Portraying Nurse, Police Say
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