This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A Uintah County jail nurse is facing misdemeanor charges after officials say she gave prescription medications to inmates without authorization.
Helen Marie Bemis, 57, was charged this week in 8th District Court with two counts of class A misdemeanor violation of the Pharmacy Protection Act.
Vernal police officials began an investigation in March after jail workers contacted authorities about Bemis allegedly giving prescriptions to inmates that were not prescribed, according to a search warrant affidavit filed in court.
"During the course of the investigation, it was discovered that Helen Bemis is allegedly stock-piling prescription medication from previous inmates," an investigator wrote in the search warrant, adding that it appeared that Bemis was re-stocking and re-prescribing the medications.
Two inmates told investigators that they had been given medications without a doctor's order, according to the search warrant affidavit. One woman said she was given a "GI cocktail" of antacid and lidocaine, while another inmate reported that Bemis gave her the antifungal medication Diflucan for a yeast infection.
That inmate later told investigators that the nurse told her that she was being given the medication without the doctor's permission.
"[The inmate] stated Helen told her that, 'She was trying to help a sister out,'" an investigator wrote, adding that the situation made the inmate feel "uncomfortable."
Bemis told the inmate not to tell anybody that she had been given the prescription, the inmate later told police.
In an April police interview, Bemis allegedly said she was trying to help the inmates — and that she knew she could lose her nursing license if she was caught.
Bemis denied to investigators that she ever hid medication, but police noted that surveillance footage showed the nurse taking stock medication that was supposed to be destroyed and placing it back on the shelves.
The woman's first court appearance is scheduled for July 11. If convicted as charged, she could face a maximum penalty of a year in jail on each count.