Baltimore Nurse Sentenced For Diverting Morphine From 10-Year-Old Patient

BALTIMORE, MD — A Baltimore nurse was sentenced to 30 days behind bars after admitting she diverted morphine while caring for a 10-year-old recovering from open-heart surgery at the University of Maryland Medical Center, according to the Maryland Attorney General's Office.

Kaitlyn Elizabeth Chalmers, a licensed registered nurse, pleaded guilty in June to obtaining morphine by fraud. Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Alan C. Lazarow sentenced her on Sept. 9 to one year, suspending all but 30 days, followed by two years of supervised probation.

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Chalmers was assigned to care for the child in the hospital's Pediatric Intensive Care Unit on June 25, 2025. She documented giving the patient intravenous morphine at 8:30 a.m., but the child later complained of severe pain, authorities said.

When another nurse questioned Chalmers about the patient's unmanaged pain, Chalmers said she had administered another dose of morphine around 11:30 a.m. That dose was not documented in the child's medical records, according to prosecutors.

Chalmers claimed the child's pain was not responding to the prescribed morphine. The care team disagreed, noting the patient had not previously used opioids and the child's pain had been well managed the previous day.

During the same shift, another nurse saw Chalmers leaving a staff bathroom with bruising and bleeding on her arm that authorities said was consistent with intravenous drug use. Other nurses reported that Chalmers showed signs of impairment.

The hospital requested a drug screening, which Chalmers refused. The hospital immediately removed her from the pediatric intensive care unit and fired her.

As part of her sentence, Chalmers is prohibited from caring for children during her two-year probation. She is also barred from participating in state and federal health care programs.