A Tennessee woman is accused of telling two emergency room patients she was a nurse and they were being discharged from the hospital, ABC affiliate WTVC reported June 27.
Lydia Brock, 28, was admitted to Erlanger Baroness Hospital in Chattanooga, Tenn., on June 25 for a possible esophagus tear and deep vein thrombosis, a significant blood clot. While dressed in a hospital gown, she allegedly entered two patient rooms around 7:30 p.m. and told them she was their nurse for the evening, wdef.com reported.
The first patient was an 85-year-old man with dementia. She told him he was being discharged and removed his monitoring equipment and IV, according to an affidavit. Police said she then entered the room of a 70-year-old woman. Ms. Brock began removing monitoring equipment and the IV, but the woman's family stopped her and notified hospital staff.
Ms. Brock was put on a mental health hold putting her in custody. Security staff found an Erlanger badge in Ms. Brock's purse, along with a collection of unidentified pills and syringes, two vials with blood and empty prescription bottles from different physicians, wdef.com reported. She claimed to be a nurse at the Erlanger and stated she forgot to dispose of the medications during her last shift.
The hospital is running tests to determine whose blood was in her purse, according to the report. Staff are also working to determine if the patients were given any medications by Ms. Brock.
Erlanger declined to comment to WTVC, citing patient privacy laws.
Ms. Brock has been charged with two counts of aggravated assault, two counts of abuse of a vulnerable adult, two counts of reckless endangerment, two counts of impersonation of a licensed professional and possession of drug paraphernalia.