MU Health employee fired, charged with stealing pain medication from hospital

Jillian Worley, a former MU Health employee, was charged Thursday with five counts of stealing a controlled substance.

On Dec. 4, MUPD was called to the Women’s and Children’s Hospital after hospital administrators had discovered evidence that amounts of morphine and hydromorphone had been taken from a drug-dispensing machine.

Worley has a case review scheduled in court for Jan. 10.

According to court documents, the opiates were taken out of the machine, which is only accessible with a fingerprint or badge number, over the course of about five months spanning June to November.

Court documents list specific times, dates and amounts of each drug taken, and say that the machine’s logs indicate Worley logged in using a fingerprint. Additionally, documents say there were discrepancies between the amount of drugs withdrawn and the amount given to patients.

The final alleged withdrawal of drugs is listed as Nov. 14. Worley was terminated and arrested Dec. 4.

ABC 17 News reached out to a sergeant at MUPD with questions about the arrest. At the time of this posting, no reply has been received.

ABC 17 News contacted an MU Health spokesman to find out what position Worley held, and how long she had worked at the hospital. The only confirmation they were able to provide was that Worley is no longer an employee with MU Health.

In August, Worley was arrested by Boone County Sheriff’s deputies and charged with a DWI and another driving misdemeanor.