A former nurse at a Chilton County nursing home pleaded guilty Wednesday to an elder abuse charge when she didn't report that she had inadvertently given a facility resident the wrong drug, according to the Alabama Attorney General's Office.

Katherine Blevins Lenoir, 53, of Maplesville, pleaded guilty today to one count of reckless abuse of a protected person, according to an attorney general's statement. The hearing was held before Circuit Judge Ben A. Fuller.

Lenoir is a former employee of Don Hatley Healthcare and Rehabilitation of Clanton. A licensed practical nurse, Lenoir admitted she inadvertently administered a large dose of a narcotic pain medication to a resident of the facility instead of the requested cough medicine, according to the statement.

Instead of alerting the facility to her mistake, Lenoir manipulated treatment records to reflect that she had given the correct medication, according to the AG's statement. The patient, suffering from an overdose of the narcotic pain medication, was discovered by a nurse on a later shift and rushed to the hospital where she spent several days in the intensive care unit before being released, according to the statement. "Had Lenoir reported her mistake immediately, the patient would not have suffered nearly the prolonged effects of the narcotic. However, due to her failure to report the incident, the resident almost died," according to the statement.

Lenoir's sentencing is set for May 11 before Chilton County Circuit Judge Ben Fuller. She faces a possible sentence of up to 10 years imprisonment.

Lenoir's attorney, Clay Benson, said Lenoir is a "very good and sweet person who made a costly mistake."

"It was just a one-time mistake," Benson said. "She has never been in trouble with the law a day in her life before this happened."

Benson said he expects there will be a number of written character references submitted on Lenoir's behalf to the judge prior to sentencing.

In the statement Strange thanked the management of Don Hatley Healthcare for their prompt reporting of the incident and commended his Medicaid Fraud Control Unit for their investigation and prosecution of the case.