Nurse Took Pain Pill

A Cedar Falls nurse has pleaded guilty to taking a pain pill intended for a 95 year old who suffers from dementia and chronic pain, according to the Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier. 32 year old Matthew Bowlden was already working at a nursing home when he took a second job at another nursing home. During his first shift at the new nursing home security cameras caught him opening a locked box in the medication room and taking an oxycodone pill that was supposed to go to the 95 year old resident. When confronted about the theft Bowlden abruptly claimed his home toilet was leaking and he had to address that. He never returned to the nursing home. He pleaded guilty to one count of Acquiring a Controlled Substance by Deception. He will be sentenced at a later date. His nursing license was suspended in 2020 following an investigation by the Iowa Nursing Board.