BECKLEY, W.Va. — A Kentucky woman working at a Beckley hospital is facing over a decade in prison for fraudulently obtaining a controlled substance.
Jacqueline Brewster, 54, of Belfry, Kentucky, pleaded guilty Wednesday to obtaining a controlled substance by fraud and wrongful disclosure of individually identifiable health information.
Brewster, who was employed by Raleigh General Hospital as a travel nurse from September 2021 until February 2022, admitted to unlawfully accessing and using the health information of patients to obtain hydromorphone.
Brewster was able to access automated controlled substance dispensing machines at the hospital by using her personal biometrics. Brewster then would check out hydromorphone for a patient, and once the machine’s drawers opened, she siphoned off a portion of the opioid from the vital and diluted the remaining amount with another substance to make the vial seem full.
Brewster faces a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison with up to three years of supervised release, as well as a $500,000 fine. She will be sentenced on April 4.