BOSTON (AP) — A Massachusetts nurse has been charged with stealing morphine from a patient with dementia who was under her care, federal prosecutors said.
Gwen Rider, 41, of Northborough, was released on $10,000 bond after pleading not guilty Monday to charges of tampering with a consumer product and obtaining a controlled substance by fraud and deception, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney’s office in Boston.
An email seeking comment was left Tuesday with her attorney.
Prosecutors allege that while working an overnight shift at a Westborough nursing home last November, Rider tampered with a bottle of morphine sulfate prescribed to the patient by removing some of the morphine and tampering with the remaining supply.
The patient had been prescribed the morphine product for pain relief.
If convicted, Rider faces up to 14 years in prison, prosecutors said.
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