A former nurse working at a Massachusetts Veterans Affairs Medical Center campus in Bedford is accused of diluting morphine intended for patients and using some of the drug for herself.

Kathleen Noftle, 55, of Tewksbury, was arrested Wednesday morning on federal charges of obtaining a controlled substance by misrepresentation, fraud, deception and subterfuge, and one count of tampering with a consumer product, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

According to federal investigators, on Jan. 13, 14, and 15 of 2017, Noftle was working as a nurse at the Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital.

She worked in a hospice wing.

The former nurse is accused of taking morphine intended for clients and diluting it with water to use some of the drug for herself.

“Noftle admitted to federal agents that she mixed water from a sink with a portion of the liquid morphine doses, and then administered the diluted medication to patients orally,” according to authorities. “Noftle then allegedly ingested a diluted amount of the remaining drug.”

One veteran experienced increased difficulty breathing and increased suffering in his final days due to the diluted morphine, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Investigators learned that Noftle resigned from her position as a nurse at a different hospital because she failed to follow appropriate procedures involving drugs. There were 60 different instances at the prior hospital, investigators said

A federal affidavit on file in court said Noftle was hired at the VAMC as a full-time nurse on March 22, 2015. She previously worked as a registered nurse at Tewksbury Hospital for roughly 29 years.

Noftle worked at the VAMC’s Hospice Unit in the evenings, authorities said.

Federal records said Noftle admitted to investigators that she had “addiction issues” and began to divert drugs away from the facility for about two months.

Employees had noticed issues with Noftle’s medication card and also discovered a blue liquid. Noftle falsified records to cover up her scheme, authorities said.

Investigators said Noftle agreed to resign from Tewksbury Hospital instead of undergoing a disciplinary hearing which could have ended with her being fired.

Records from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health records show Noftle failed to follow proper procedures when “wasting” narcotics on 60 occasions, placing patient safety in jeopardy.

Noftle will appear in a Boston federal court Wednesday afternoon.