Fourth Twin Cities nurse accused of stealing drugs

Published 4:48 pm Wednesday, March 30, 2011

BURNSVILLE, Minn. (AP) — Prosecutors say a Shakopee nurse was high on Vicodin stolen from a patient when she crashed her car in Burnsville and injured a man.

Thirty-four-year-old Jessica Rae Baird is the fourth Twin Cities nurse facing drug charges this year.

A criminal complaint filed in Dakota County Tuesday says Baird was in possession of a former patient’s prescriptions when she crashed her vehicle July 11 and tested positive for drugs. She faces two felonies and a lesser charge. She’s also been fired from her job at Fairview Ridges in Burnsville.

Email newsletter signup

The executive director of the state nursing board, Shirley Brekken, tells the St. Paul Pioneer Press that the vast majority of Minnesota’s 110,000 nurses “provide safe, competent ethical care” and are regularly counseled about the dangers of substance addiction.