A Maplesville nurse has been arrested and charged with abusing and/or neglecting a patient at a Clanton nursing home.

Katherine Blevins Lenoir, 53, was arrested Wednesday afternoon and released on a $15,000 bond.

The Alabama Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit presented evidence to a Chilton County grand jury resulting in an Aug. 5 indictment.

Lenoir was charged with one count of elder abuse in the first degree. She is a former employee of Don Hatley Healthcare and Rehabilitation.

It is alleged that Lenoir, who is a licensed practical nurse, inadvertently administered a large dose of a narcotic pain medication to a patient instead of the requested cough medicine.

Lenoir, however, instead of alerting the facility to her mistake, manipulated treatment records to reflect that she had given the correct medication, according to the Alabama Attorney General’s Office.

The patient, suffering from an overdose of the narcotic pain medication, was discovered by a nurse on a later shift and rushed to the hospital where she spent several days in the intensive care unit before being released.

Elder abuse and neglect in the first degree provides that any person who intentionally abuses or neglects any elderly person is guilty of a Class A felony if the intentional abuse or neglect causes serious physical injury.

One of the legal definitions of “serious physical injury,” is a physical injury which creates a substantial risk of death.

A class A felony carries a possible sentence of 10 years to life in the Alabama Department of Corrections.

Attorney General Strange commended his Medicaid Fraud Control Unit for their investigation of the case.