IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (AP) — An east-central Idaho nursing assistant has pleaded guilty to removing pain patches from elderly patients at a nursing home so she could use them herself to get high.

The Post Register reports that 23-year-old Ashley Wornek of Salmon pleaded guilty last week in 7th District Court to five counts of felony possession of a controlled substance. Wornek faces up to seven years in prison for each count. Wornek worked at the Discovery Care Centre's skilled care unit that housed 23 patients. Authorities say Wornek during about a two-month span peeled the patches off patients and took them for her own use.

Prosecutors say she cut the patches into pieces and was chewing or sucking on them for a high. Wornek has been reported to the Nurse Aid Registry, and authorities anticipate her license will be revoked.

 

 

 

 

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