A Maplesville woman was arrested Wednesday for abuse and neglect of a resident at Hatley Healthcare and Rehabilitation in Clanton.

Attorney General Luther Strange announced the arrest of Katherine Blevins Lenoir, 53, a former employee of a Chilton County nursing home for abuse and/or neglect of a resident of the facility.

The Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit presented evidence to a Chilton County grand jury resulting in an indictment dated Aug. 5, charging Lenoir with one count of elder abuse in the first degree, according to a press release from Strange’s office.

Lenoir is a former employee of Hatley Healthcare and Rehabilitation, according to the release.

Allegedly, Lenoir, who is a licensed practical nurse, inadvertently administered a large dose of a narcotic pain medication to a patient instead of the requested cough medicine.

Instead of alerting the facility of her mistake, Lenoir manipulated treatment records to reflect that she had given the correct medication, according to the release.

The patient, suffering from an overdose of the narcotic pain medication, was discovered by a nurse on a later shift and rushed to the hospital, where she spent several days in the intensive care unit before being released.

Had Lenoir reported her mistake immediately, the patient would not have suffered the prolonged effects of the narcotic, according to the release.

However, due to her intentional neglect, the patient almost died, the release said.

Elder abuse and neglect in the first degree provides that any person who intentionally abuses or neglects any elderly person is guilty of a Class A felony if the intentional abuse or neglect causes serious physical injury. One of the legal definitions of “serious physical injury” is a physical injury that creates a substantial risk of death, according to the release.

A Class A felony carries a possible sentence of 10 years to life in the Alabama Department of Corrections.

A call seeking comment from Hatley Healthcare and Rehabilitation regarding the incident was not returned on Thursday.