PITTSBURGH — A former pharmacy technician at a Pittsburgh-area hospital is charged with stealing prescription painkillers meant for patients, which she allegedly swapped for other medications.
Officials at Jefferson Memorial Hospital in Pleasant Hills informed more than 300 patients that they might have received an anti-nausea drug instead of the oxycodone that was allegedly stolen.
Attorney general's investigators have charged 43-year-old Cheryl Ashcraft, of New Eagle, with stealing those drugs to feed her habit of up to 10 pills a day. Online court records don't list an attorney for Ashcraft, and The Associated Press was unable to find a listed home number for her.
She faces a preliminary hearing Jan. 30 on charges including prescription drug theft and reckless endangerment.
The hospital says it has supported the investigation and considers patient safety a "top priority."
WPXI
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