VA Hospice nurse accused of taking morphine from dying veterans leaving them suffering in pain

Former nurse charged for allegedly stealing morphine from dying veterans

ABC News
By ELLA TORRES
Sep 18, 2019

In one case, a veteran experienced increased difficulties breathing and increased suffering in his final days, federal prosecutors said, citing its investigation into the matter.

A former hospice nurse has been accused of ingesting morphine that was meant for dying veterans and, in turn, causing increased suffering for some of the patients in their last days, officials said Wednesday.

Kathleen Noftle, 55, was arrested and charged for offenses she allegedly committed while working at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center campus in Bedford, Massachusetts, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in the state.

Noftle admitted to authorities that she mixed water from the sink with a portion of the liquid morphine to dilute the drug three times in January 2017, then gave the watered-down version to veterans and ingested the remaining amount for herself, according to the attorney’s office.

The investigation also revealed that before Noftle worked at the VA center in Bedford, she resigned from her position as a nurse at a different hospital because she did not follow protocol when throwing out narcotics on 60 occasions.
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