A registered nurse was sentenced in federal court in Worcester for tampering with morphine prescribed to a nursing home resident in her care. Gwen Rider, 43, of Northborough, was sentenced to 52 months in prison and three years of supervised release. On March 8, 2022, Rider pleaded guilty to one count of tampering with a consumer product and one count of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud and deception. Rider was a registered nurse employed by a Worcester County nursing home. From approximately 11:00 p.m. on Nov. 6, 2020, until 7:00 a.m. the following morning, Rider was on duty in a unit specializing in care for residents suffering from dementia. During her shift and while entrusted with the care of a resident suffering from dementia, Rider tampered with a bottle of morphine sulfate prescribed to the patient by removing some of the morphine and adding water to the remaining supply. Morphine sulfate is a Schedule II controlled substance under federal law. A nurse on a subsequent shift administered the adulterated morphine to a patient before the tampering was discovered.
