Former nurse at Anderson Twp. hospital who took fentanyl from patients' IV bags sentenced

A former nurse at an Anderson Township hospital who court documents say took fentanyl from patients’ IV bags was sentenced Wednesday to two years of probation.

But it was revealed in court that 48-year-old Kimberly Clark took a job at Mercy Health Anderson Hospital only months after leaving her job at a hospital in Chillicothe, where she was accused of taking fentanyl from a patient.

Clark was never charged with a crime in Ross County, and she told Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Melba Marsh Wednesday that she never had dealings with the state nursing board until being charged in the Mercy Health case.

Her nursing license has been suspended. She said she is working with the nursing board to have her license reinstated.

According to the timeline presented in court, Clark left her job at Adena Health System in Chillicothe at the end of March 2023. In May 2023, she was hired at Mercy Health, she said. A month later, on June 24, 2023, she was arrested for stealing the fentanyl.

At Wednesday’s hearing, Clark told Marsh that she didn’t realize she had a drug problem until she was arrested.

Clark said she didn’t have a drug problem when she left Chillicothe.

Now, she said, “I’m working on it.”

Since her arrest, Clark said she has undergone “a lot of counseling” as well as Bible study.

As part of her probation, she will undergo drug counseling and treatment as well as regular drug screens.

Marsh told Clark that if she violates probation, she faces 18 months in prison.

“You siphoned off medications that are needed for patients. They didn’t receive medication, but you did,” Marsh said. “You are not only a danger to yourself, but to the individuals you are sworn to protect and take care of.”

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Nurse who took fentanyl from patients' IV bags sentenced