SEATTLE — Authorities are investigating an incident at Swedish Medical Center, where a woman, posing as a nurse, stole painkillers from patients’ rooms.
The incident occurred on April 13, when the suspect, dressed in a blue blouse that could be mistaken for hospital scrubs, entered into a patient’s room and tried to manipulate a machine that allowed him to administer his pain medication. The patient’s real nurse then found that the line from the machine to the patient had been cut. Two other patients also reported the same type of incident, KIRO TV reports.
When an actual hospital nurse confronted the suspect, the woman said she was there to check the machines and used medical terminology. It is unclear how the woman entered the secure employee door; however, some doctors speculated that she may have piggybacked when a staff member opened the door with a magnetic ID.
No patients were harmed during the incident.
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