A Maryland registered nurse will spend 30 days behind bars after pleading guilty to obtaining morphine by fraud while caring for a 10-year-old patient recovering from open-heart surgery at a Baltimore hospital.
Kaitlyn Elizabeth Chalmers, 27, was working in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at the University of Maryland Medical Center on June 25, 2025. She was responsible for administering morphine prescribed to help manage the child’s pain following surgery.
According to case information, Chalmers documented giving the child an intravenous dose at about 8:30 a.m. Less than an hour later, around 9:18 a.m., the child was still experiencing severe pain.
The continued pain raised concerns among the medical team. Another nurse asked Chalmers whether she had administered any additional medication. Chalmers said she had given the child another dose at about 11:30 a.m., but that dose was not recorded in the patient’s medical chart.
Chalmers reportedly said the prescribed morphine was not adequately controlling the child’s pain. Other members of the care team questioned that explanation because the child had not previously been exposed to opioids and had responded well to pain treatment the day before.
Concerns about Chalmers’ own condition during the shift soon added to the situation. A nurse reported seeing her leave a staff bathroom with bruising and bleeding on her arm that prosecutors described as consistent with intravenous drug use. Other nurses also reported signs that she appeared impaired while working in the pediatric unit.
The hospital requested that Chalmers undergo a drug screening. She refused the test and was removed from the patient-care floor. The hospital subsequently terminated her employment.
Chalmers later pleaded guilty on June 20, 2026, to obtaining morphine by fraud. Morphine is a Schedule II controlled substance commonly used to treat severe pain.
On September 9, 2026, Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Alan C. Lazarow sentenced Chalmers to one year in prison, with all but 30 days suspended. She was also given two years of supervised probation.
Her sentence includes additional restrictions. Chalmers is prohibited from caring for children during her probation and has been excluded from participating in state and federal healthcare programs.
The University of Maryland Medical Center said it acted immediately after learning about the nurse’s conduct, removing her from the unit and terminating her employment. The medical center also said it cooperated with regulatory and law enforcement authorities and was taking steps to prevent similar incidents.
The case highlights the serious consequences that can follow when controlled medications are diverted from patient care. In this instance, the medication had been prescribed for a child recovering from major heart surgery, while concerns about the nurse’s conduct prompted hospital staff to intervene during the same shift.
Chalmers is serving her sentence through Maryland’s correctional system, where the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women is located in Jessup.
