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JUPITER
A 58-year-old Boynton Beach woman pretended to be a nurse while stealing medication from a Jupiter doctor’s office, town police allege.
Police arrested Donna M. King on Wednesday on charges of theft, practicing nursing without a license and fraudulent use of a nursing license. She was released the same day after posting a $6,000 bond.
King’s arrest stems from an investigation that began in August, according to a police report. Investigators say that, beginning in June, King used the license number of a registered nurse with a similar name to apply for a job at Advanced Natural Medicine on West Indiantown Road. According to the Florida Department of Health, the license belonged to a nurse in Haines City area. The nurse advised that she had never been to Jupiter.
King’s employer alleged to police that she stole about $720 in medical supplies. She was fired from that position in August, according to the report.
On Wednesday, police investigators spoke to King and reported that she gave conflicting statements about ordering medical supplies. Her former employer told police that an alarm code given only to King was used to access the office late on the night of July 21, a Friday. She acknowledged going into the office after hours on one occasion, saying at first she wanted to check if the lights were on, but later saying she went to check on whether a door was locked.
When another nurse reported for work the following Monday, she noticed that catheters and vials of Glutathione, an antioxidant used in IV therapy, were missing. The doctor told investigators she also noticed several days later that bottles of Plaquex, a medicine used in IV treatments, vials of B vitamins and two of her prescription pads were missing.
The doctor said she used to those findings to fire King, but did not tell her why.
The report does not include any response from her about using the nurse’s ID. King said she was hired as an IV technician at a rate of $25 per hour.