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 by the state's Healthcare Fraud Control Unit, which is comprised

of members 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.