A young nurse employed at Orlando Health Bayfront Hospital has been charged with the alleged theft of checks and a credit card from a patient in his care, as multiple sources reported. According to an WFLA article, 23-year-old Trenton Duckworth was arrested last Saturday morning on suspicion of forging a $5,000 check and using a patient's credit card for various personal expenses.
Duckworth faces 15 charges that include uttering a check with a forged endorsement and the exploitation of an elderly person; he was the nurse responsible for the victim at the time of the occurrence, the total value stolen reportedly amounted to less than $10,000 but enough to prompt an intensive review by the authorities and stir questions about the vulnerability of those we entrust with our very lives, the safety of the sick and the elderly who lay in hospital beds, their veins often opened up to the very souls who might be preying upon them. WTSP reported that Duckworth admitted to the crimes after being read his Miranda rights and is anticipated to have his first court appearance today.
Additional details from the affidavit sited that the nurse purportedly used the stolen credit card for a range of purchases, which included not only essentials like gasoline and groceries but also non-essentials like payment for a dog walker and sports betting, as mentioned in a FOX 13 report.
The hospital institution at the center of these allegations, Orlando Health Bayfront Hospital, has communicated its commitment to patient safety and adherence to ethical standards, in response to the arrest, they issued a statement underscoring that their "number one priority is the health and safety of patients, team members and visitors," also noting the initiation of an internal investigation into the matter as well as cooperation with law enforcement, FOX 13 disclosed this official comment from the hospital regarding the case.
