Friday, August 30, 2002
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Friday, August 30, 2002 |
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Local nursing home employee fired, charged for stealing pain patch By JOHN MUNFORD
An East Point woman has been arrested for stealing pain medication from a patient at Southland Nursing Home in Peachtree City while she worked as a certified nurse assistant there. Carol Stewart, 53, is charged with theft by taking, reckless conduct and simple battery relating to the theft of a Duragesic pain patch, according to warrants for her arrest. Stewart removed the patch from a patient's chest in early June, and that patient reported the incident to authorities, said John Bankhead, spokesperson for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Stewart apparently was taking the patches "for her own use," Bankhead said. Such "pain patches" are typically used for patients who suffer chronic pain, Bankhead said, adding that Southland officials fired Stewart before the GBI was called in to investigate. The investigation was conducted by the state's Healthcare Fraud Control Unit, which is comprised of members of the GBI, the state Department of Audits and the state Attorney General's Office. The unit investigates fraud and patient abuse cases, Bankhead said.
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