MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A hospital worker at a Grand Marais nursing home is accused of taking drugs from patients and from garbage cans at the facility, according to charges filed Thursday by the Minnesota Department of Health.

The incident happened in early February at the Cook County Northshore Hospital and Care Center in Grand Marais, according to health department officials. According to officials, the worker admitted to administrative officials that she took patches of the narcotic pain killer Fentanyl from a patient’s trash can, then later from two patients at the facility.

Health department officials said interviews were conducted with administrative staff, who noted that the pain patches for patients had been missing for several weeks.

The woman accused in the case admitted that she started taking the patches from a trash can, then took them from residents over a period of several weeks. The woman was terminated from her position at the health care facility.