Former hospice nurse pleads not guilty to stealing drugs

8/5/2008
BLADE STAFF

A former nurse at Hospice of Northwest Ohio was arraigned Tuesday on charges that she stole liquid pain medication from her one-time employer.

Mary Mitchell, 51, of Maumee, pleaded not guilty to three counts of theft of drugs. If convicted, she faces up to 4 years in prison.

Mitchell resigned from her position at the Hospice facility in South Toledo after being suspected of the thefts of pain medication that is prescribed to patients. She was indicted by a Lucas County grand jury on July 21.

Judge Frederick McDonald set a Sept. 16 trial date. Mitchell was booked at the Lucas County jail and was ordered released on a supervised recognizance bond.

The medication Mitchell is suspected of stealing is an injectable liquid packaged in a pre-measured vial. Patients are given the prescribed dosage and the remaining medication is supposed to be thrown away.

Hospice officials monitored Mitchell and the amount of drugs she administered between April 1 and May 22.