Pennsylvania woman suspected of selling heroin out of her hospital room and ICU

GREENSBURG, Pa., April 22 (UPI) -- A Pennsylvania patient will likely be facing drug charges after police allegedly confiscated more than 350 stamp bags of heroin that she was in the process of selling from her hospital room.

Greensburg City police are expected to charge a woman was being treated at Excela Health Westmoreland Hospital with delivery and possession of a controlled substance as soon as Tuesday.

In addition to selling heroin from the ICU unit as well as her hospital room, the woman also allegedly injected heroin into her IV system.

The Intensive Care Unit at Excela Westmoreland Hospital cares for the sickest of sick patients, which is another reason our staff is keenly aware of what is happening in and around a patient's room as they monitor for sudden changes in health status, Excela spokeswoman Jennifer Miele said in an emailed statement. Last week, they noticed an inordinate amount of foot traffic to one room. Rather than visitors who stayed for an hour or more, they saw people coming and going in a matter of minutes.

After watching what was happening on surveillance cameras, hospital security staffers contacted the Greensburg police.

When the heroin was seized, police also took two syringes, several cellphones, and $1,420 from the woman's hospital room.

[CBS Pittsburgh] [WPXI]

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Pennsylvania woman suspected of selling heroin out of her hospital room and ICU