PITTSBURGH -- They handle medications all the time but new information indicates that more and more nurses are abusing the drugs they are supposed to be giving to patients.

It's estimated between 10 and 15 percent of all nurses in the U.S. are addicts.

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VIDEO: Karen Welles' Full Report

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Target 11 investigator Karen Welles examined records, volumes of disciplinary actions the State Board of Nursing has taken against nurses in Pennsylvania.

In the Pittsburgh region the number of nurses disciplined for alcohol and drug addiction has more than tripled from 2001 through 2005.

Cathy, a registered nurse for more than 30 years, admitted she took prescription painkillers intended for her patients in the intensive care unit.

Cathy's addiction began after three family members and two pets died all in a six month period.

For shoulder surgery, Cathy was given Vicodin.

By the time the prescription ran out, she was hooked.

Like many hospitals these days, the hospital where Cathy works uses a automated medication dispensing machine, designed to prevent health care workers from taking drugs for themselves, but some nurses look at it differently.

For two years that's how Cathy got her fix of Vicodin, Percocet and Darvacet.

The hospital pharmacy finally caught on and Cathy was charged criminally.

As an addicted nurse, she's not alone and the number is on the rise.

In the Pittsburgh area there were 13 nurses disciplined by the Pa. State Nursing Board in 2001.

In 2002, 34 nurses had action taken against their licenses because of addiction and in the past three years the number has been in the 40s.

It's estimated that more than 25,000 nurses in Pennsylvania are at risk for being impaired on the job because of addiction.

To help nurses come forward without fear of losing their licenses or going to prison, the Pa. state nurses association is pushing a bill that would create a nurses' health program.