KING, WI (WSAU-WAOW) A nurse at the Wisconsin Veterans Home in King stole several pain medications, including oxycodone and morphine, and police suspected she “has an opiate addiction that drives those behaviors,” according to a criminal complaint.
41-year-old Alicia Krisher-Behm of Ogdensburg is charged with two felonies: obtaining a controlled substance by fraud and theft. She is free on a $10,000 signature bond, according to online Waupaca County court records.
Workers at the Veterans Home tipped off investigators about prescription drug diversions at the complex, leading to her arrest.
Among the incidents reported occurred on an overnight shift Jan. 19 when Krisher-Behm was working and a patient received two “additional, unscheduled maximum doses of oxycodone” in response to reported shoulder pain, the complaint said.
Nurses who checked later indicated the patient reported no pain, “had not had any considerable pain for several days” and was awake and alert, the complaint said.
Another incident involved Krisher-Behm drawing 1.2 milliliters of morphine “beyond what she reported she administered to the patient.” A search of Krisher-Behm’s home January 21 found evidence of two missing bottles of at least 66 15mg oxycodone pills that were supposed to be transferred with a patient from the nursing home to the Veterans Home and she had assisted with the transfer, the complaint said.
Krisher-Behm is to return to court March 20 for a preliminary hearing.
The maximum punishment for both felonies is six years in prison.