NEWPORT, Tenn. — Newport police are investigating reports of a woman dressed as an in-home nurse stealing people's pain medication.
According to the police report filed with the Newport Police Department, an officer responded to a call about someone's medication being stolen at a home on Jaybird Road on May 16.
The officer said they spoke with a nurse who works at Smoky Mountain Home Health and Hospice when they arrived. The nurse told them their patient's hydrocodone pain pills had been swapped with Tylenol and an anti-psychotic pill.
The nurse said they refilled the patient's medication the week before, which was 56 hydrocodone pills, saying the patient's daughter noticed the pills were different after a woman dressed in white scrubs came by on May 13.
The nurse said she checked the system and found no record of another nurse from her agency visiting the home on that day.
The daughter said the woman who came to their home was a short-haired brunette in her mid-40s dressed in white scrubs, saying she asked to see the patient's medication. The daughter said the woman reported the patient's blood pressure was elevated but did not see the woman actually checking her mother's blood pressure.
The daughter said her mother later complained her pain medication was not working, and when she checked she found medication that looked different from her normal prescription.
The nurse said there have been other reports of someone posing as a nurse matching the same description in nearby areas.
Anyone with tips or information should call the Newport Police Department at (423) 623-5556 extension 545.