From the News-Messenger
A nurse charged with stealing medication from her patients at a Gibsonburg nursing home last year wants to be sent to rehab for a drug problem instead of prison.
But the prosecutor on the case doesn’t think the nurse, Andrea Alley, 37, Sandusky, qualifies for a program called intervention in lieu of conviction.
Judge Barbara Ansted will decide whether to put Alley on the program after a hearing at 9 a.m. Aug. 10 in Sandusky County Common Pleas Court.
Alley faces 19 felony counts of theft of drugs. She worked for Windsor Lane Healthcare Center in Gibsonburg until the nursing home fired her last July when the allegations were made against her.
She is charged with taking opiate painkillers Percocet and hydrocodone, anti-inflammatory medicine Naproxen and anxiety disorder drugs Alprzaolam and Diazepam, according to a Gibsonburg police report.
If the judge gives Alley intervention, Alley would plead guilty to the charges, Sandusky County Assistant Prosecutor Kenneth Walz said. Then if she completes the program successfully, the case against her would be dismissed.
The probation department is reviewing Alley’s background and will submit a report to the judge regarding her case, Walz said.
Walz said he does not believe Alley qualifies because some of the alleged victims were older than 65, and some could be considered disabled. If those two criteria are met, Ohio law does not allow for the person to be given intervention, he said.
Alley’s attorney, Dan Brudzinski of Fremont, was not available for comment.
The case against Alley started July 18 when a Windsor Lane Healthcare Center official told Gibsonburg police she suspected Alley had falsified records. Medical logs and drug records had errors and inconsistencies regarding when medication was given to patients and how much was administered, according to the police report.
Two patients told police they never received medication that Alley noted in nursing home records she gave them. Two more said they caught Alley giving them other pills instead of their medications and had her bring them the correct medication, according to the report.
Three other patients in question are in the dementia unit and were unable to talk to police, according to the report.