An East Point woman has been

arrested for stealing pain medication from a patient at Southland Nursing

Home in Peachtree City while she worked as a certified nurse assistant

there.

Carol Stewart, 53, is charged

with theft by taking, reckless conduct and simple battery relating to

the theft of a Duragesic pain patch, according to warrants for her arrest.

Stewart removed the patch from a patient's chest in early June, and that

patient reported the incident to authorities, said John Bankhead, spokesperson

for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Stewart apparently was taking

the patches "for her own use," Bankhead said.

Such "pain patches"

are typically used for patients who suffer chronic pain, Bankhead said,

adding that Southland officials fired Stewart before the GBI was called

in to investigate.

The investigation was conducted

of the GBI, the state Department of Audits and the state Attorney General's

Office. The unit investigates fraud and patient abuse cases, Bankhead

said.