ANDERSON COUNTY, Ky. — A Lexington woman was arrested for stealing morphine from a nursing home in Lawrenceburg.
Abigail Hall, a registered nurse, was arrested on August 27 for stealing medication from the Heritage Hall nursing facility.
Lawrenceburg Police were dispatched to the facility for an employee who was leaving the scene intoxicated.
When police arrived, they found Hall in her vehicle, failing to signal as she turned onto Main Street. A DUI investigation was performed.
A nurse at the facility told the Lawrenceburg 911 Center they witnessed Hall enter the bathroom, where she remained for a long period of time. After she left the bathroom, the top to a morphine bottle was found.
The nurse advised that during a medication check, 30ml of morphine was missing. It was also said that Hall signed out morphine for three patients while working.
Hall's backpack was located outside of the building where another nurse sent pictures to police of the evidence.
Located in the backpack were seven syringes of blue liquid medication along with other prescription drugs.
As the investigation continued, Hall admitted to taking the medication from Heritage Hall. She told police she replaced the bottles of stolen morphine with water and blue food coloring to resemble to real medication. She also confessed that she had been doing this since January.
Hall is currently booked in the Shelby County Detention Center.
Signature HealthCARE provided the following statement to LEX 18 regarding the matter:
Signature HealthCARE continues to cooperate with local authorities in this ongoing investigation. The person arrested in this matter is from a staffing agency contractor and not employed by Signature HealthCARE. As this is an active investigation, we can make no further comment with the exception of ensuring that the safety and well-being of our residents continues to be our top priority and we commend the nurses and CNAs at Heritage Hall for reaching quickly in this matter.
