SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – A nurse from Connecticut who worked at a Westfield nursing facility admitted in Springfield federal court Tuesday to tampering with liquid morphine that was prescribed to a patient.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, 42-year-old Danielle Works of Stafford Springs, pleaded guilty to one count of tampering with a consumer product. A sentencing date has been set for June 2, 2021.
Works was initially charged back in October 2020.
In October 2017, Works tampered with a bottle of morphine that was prescribed to a patient at the Governor’s Center, a nursing facility in Westfield. She did so by removing the dose from the bottle and diluting the remaining with another substance.
The morphine was prescribed to a hospice patient who repeatedly received diluted doses of the medication shortly before her death, the court said.
The court added that after ingesting the morphine, Works continued to provide care to patients at the nursing home facility while significantly impaired.
Works could spend up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000.
