A Detroit nurse was sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to tampering with vials and syringes of liquid painkillers.
Mary Cheatham, 42, worked at an unnamed Detroit hospital, according to a May 2 news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan. In 2020, she admitted to tampering with vials and syringes containing hydromorphone, a painkiller intended for patients in the critical care unit of the hospital. She removed the painkiller and replaced it with saline solution before returning the containers "knowing they could be administered to patients at the hospital."
Ms. Cheatham stole 116 vials and syringes of hydromorphone, which she used on herself, according to the release.