She went in for a severe infection in her leg. While she was heavily sedated, someone stole her credit cards. She's not the only victim.

Oleta Miers suffered through excruciating pain as doctors scrambled to treat a severe infection in her right leg. At one point, they even spoke of amputation as a real possibility.

The 63-year-old felt vulnerable and scared.

She prayed for the best.

“I felt like I was in good hands, and this happened and now I don’t trust nobody,” she said.

Miers wasn’t talking about the care she received at Kingwood Medical Center. She’s talking about the theft that occurred in her own hospital room while sedated on heavy medication.

Hundreds of hospital thefts are reported every year in Houston and Harris County, according to a KHOU 11 Investigates analysis of police and court records.

It’s the last place Miers ever thought she would become a crime victim.

“Don’t kick me when I’m down,” she said. “Stealing from somebody when they’re at their lowest point, you know.”

Somebody had stolen two credit cards from her purse and went on a shopping spree. She didn’t even realize the theft occurred until she returned home days later and checked her bills.

“I mean, it was maxed out. I was like, ‘I’ve never been to this place, and I’ve never been to this place,’” Miers said.

Places like GameStop, BreWingZ and the clothing retailer PacSun appeared on her credit card statements. Charges at Victoria’s Secret were on there, too.

“I’m thinking, ‘I don’t go to Victoria’s Secret,’” she said.

The thief also went to Walmart and was captured on store security video buying a garden hose and other items. Police identified the suspect as Tyler Katz and linked him to two other thefts at the same hospital.

Investigators learned the crimes were all an inside job. Katz worked at Kingwood Medical as a patient transporter.

“He was the one who took me down to X-rays,” Miers said. “It pissed me off. It pissed me off bad.”

The arrest in Miers’ theft is rare – most hospital cases go unsolved, according to a KHOU 11 Investigates analysis of police and court records.

It’s not just credit cards thieves get away with. Victims reported laptops and smart phones stolen, as well as pricey watches and diamond jewelry. In one case, a patient’s engagement ring and wedding band were taken from her room.

In 2016-2017, a total of 704 hospital thefts were reported to the Houston Police Department and Harris County Sheriff’s Office.

The most hospital thefts were reported at Houston Methodist Hospital in the medical center with 117 over two years.

Gwendolyn Douglas was one of those victims.

“I had no place to put my purse, so the nurse told me, ‘Put it in the cabinet; it will be fine.’” Douglas said.

Douglas was recuperating from a pacemaker surgery and had left her room for a follow-up CAT scan. Later, she wanted to give her son cash to cover parking at the hospital garage.

“I went to look in my wallet and I didn’t have any money, it was gone,” she said. “I think it’s horrible and I think that hospital needs to be a little more accountable.

Houston Methodist security officials said that accountability exists on many levels—off-duty uniformed and plain-clothed police officers, security guards and a network of 1,500 surveillance cameras.

The hospital’s command center resembles a Las Vegas casino security operation, with banks of television screens monitored around the clock.

“The eye in the sky that tells you how we take security seriously,” said Hadji Sarr, the hospital’s director of public safety.

Sarr said theft report numbers naturally are higher at Houston Methodist due to its size—it’s the largest hospital in the Texas Medical Center. He said despite a heavy security presence, thousands of people come and go daily, and thieves can blend in looking for an opportunity.

“Nobody wants to be a victim of crime. What I’d say is, I’m very sorry that it happened to anyone,” Sarr said. “But we investigate it, we take it seriously, we give it due diligence.”

Houston Methodist has added combination safes to all its newer patient rooms and will install others as older rooms are renovated.

Both security experts and victims said the best advice if you’re heading to the hospital is leave your valuables at home.

“Be very, very careful. No matter where you are, what hospital you may be in, there are a lot of thieves out there,” Douglas said.

Kingwood Medical Center declined an on-camera interview request but provided the following statement regarding the arrest of Tyler Katz and theft numbers at the hospital.

“Kingwood Medical Center takes the safety of our patients, visitors and staff seriously. This employee was terminated following the 2017 incident. We routinely review security protocols and procedures. In an effort to reinforce both, we have added additional security officers, updated exterior lighting, upgraded security systems, and expanded access control systems throughout the hospital.”