By Justin A. Rice, Town Correspondent
A former assisted-living nurse in Danvers who allegedly stole prescription pain medication from her patients last fall will likely undergo a rigorous five-year drug addiction program specifically designed for nurses, according to her lawyer.
Amy E. Martin was arraigned in Salem District Court this morning for allegedly replacing the prescription pain drugs of her elderly patients with generic Tylenol and acetaminophen.
Martin’s lawyer, Mark Berry, said his client became hooked on prescription pain killers after undergoing orthopedic surgery.
Martin allegedly stole drugs such as Vicodin and oxycodone prescribed to six residents at Brightview Danvers on Endicott Street over a period of months before she confessed to police in October, according to court papers.
A plea of not guilty was entered by the court for the 29-year old Marblehead resident, who is facing six counts of larceny of prescription drugs and a charge of possessing Class B controlled substances.
A state statute allows a person who is dependent on drugs or alcohol to delay proceedings until they get help, according to Berry. Judge Sabita Singh ordered Martin to return to court on
March 21 after she is evaluated by the court’s physician, Dr. Randall Dwyer.
Berry said an independent physician, Dr. James P. DeVellis, has already determined that Martin is drug dependent.
“The only thing the court has done beyond what we asked for is they want the court doctor to talk to her and even though there was an independent physician who stated she was drug dependent,” Berry told reporters after the proceedings.
“In between now and [March 21] Dr. Dwyer will speak to her and I assume confirm the findings.”
Berry said his client will likely undergo a state drug treatment program designed for nurses called Nursing Substance Abuse Rehabilitation Program, or SARP.
“It’s a voluntary program,” Berry said. “If nurses get in trouble they take it for five years and are not allowed to work at the beginning once they’ve started the treatment program.”
Berry said participants in the program have to undergo random drug screenings and a peer support group. He said eventually the program could help Martin regain employment as a nurse but with restrictions.
“It is the most intense program I’ve ever seen,” he said, noting that the other nurses and doctors at the facility should have realized the patients weren’t taking the proper drugs. “It’s hard to believe a group of nurses or doctors didn’t know what she was giving.
“Everything failed. This will put it back together.”
A resident at the home first complained about Martin in September when she noticed that the pills she was consuming didn’t match the pills she picked up from the pharmacy, according to court papers.
After Brightview officials reported Martin to authorities, Danvers police placed hidden cameras in the facility that caught Martin taking drugs from other patients as well, according to court papers.
Martin had only worked at the home for roughly a year when she confessed to police on Oct. 25, according to court papers, and at that time police summonsed Martin to court instead of arresting her on the spot.
It is alleged that she stole several pills over a period of a few months, according to the court papers.
“She was asked [about] her thoughts of the residents that she stole the pain medication from,” the police report said. “Amy Martin stated that she had thoughts for these residents and could not explain why other than the pain she was in every day.”
Justin A. Rice can be reached at jrice.globe@gmail.com.
