A registered nurse from Westmoreland County was sentenced to serve 24 months probation and had her nursing license placed on probation for taking a patient’s pain medication at a Saxonburg nursing home.

Julie D. Zetkulic, 48, of Greensburg was sentenced last week in Common Pleas Court to serve two consecutive 12-month terms of probation after pleading guilty to misdemeanor charges of possession of a controlled substance and theft by unlawful taking filed by the state Attorney General’s office.

In April, the State Board of Nursing placed her nursing license on probation for three years marking the second time the board imposed disciplinary action against her for a drug-related offense.

While working Sept. 15, 2022, at The Orchards in Saxonburg, 223 Pittsburgh St., Zetkulic was seen getting narcotics from a medicine cart by other staff during early morning hours when patients are normally sleeping, according to an affidavit.

Saxonburg police, who initiated the investigation, said Zetkulic didn’t reply when staff asked about inconsistencies in the count of medicine.

Employees told officers that Zetkulic appeared to be impaired and was nodding off at the nurses station.

Medical records showed that Zetkulic’s patient was prescribed regular doses of Lorazepam, morphine sulfate and oxycodone for pain management, according to police.

Police said Zetkulic made withdrawals of seven doses of Lorazepam, nine doses of morphine sulfate and 11 doses of oxycodone for her patient. The medications were not given to the patient, according to police.

During a March 15, 2023 interview with police, she admitted to removing substances from the medication cart on Sept. 14 and 15, 2022, and then ingesting them.

Zetkulic self reported the incident to the State Board of Nursing in February 2023, her attorney Ansley Westbrook told Judge Joseph Kubit before he ordered the sentence.

She was diagnosed with substance use disorder, is receiving outpatient treatment and submits to random drug testing, Westbrook said.

The April 23 consent agreement and order from the board places her on probation for three years, he said.

Nurses are allowed to continue practicing while their licenses are on probation, but only if they follow conditions spelled out by the board.

Kubit told Zetkulic that he is glad she reported herself and is getting treatment, and he hopes she commits to the treatment.

In October 2020, the board reinstated Zetkulic’s license at the end of a one-year suspension that was ordered in October 2019 in another drug case.

The suspension came after she was fired from Westmoreland Hospital in Greensburg for “diverting” hydromorphone and fentanyl from December 2017 to March 2018 and was charged with two felony counts of possession of a controlled substance, according to a complaint filed by the Attorney General’s office.

She told investigators that no medication was withheld from patients, but she diverted medication from waste and obtained medication using a patient’s name, but didn’t administer the medication to any patient, according to the complaint.

She pleaded guilty to both charges and was sentenced to two years of probation.