Former hospital employee faces charges

A former St. Francis Medical Center employee faces charges she stole from her employer by clocking in and out for shifts she never worked and accepting pay for those hours -- making off with what prosecutors estimate could be as much as $12,000.

Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle charged Julie D. Edmundson, 28, of Cape Girardeau, with felony stealing by deceit Sept. 30. Edmundson was a retractor holder in the operating room at St. Francis Medical Center. She is currently free on bond.

Edmundson was fired July 30 after hospital staff conducted an internal investigation from July 14 to 24, said Cape Girardeau detective Rodney Edwards in a probable cause statement.

Hospital staff told police that Edmundson never performed any work in the operating room during those days, he said. However, her time card records showed a total of 67.8 hours worked at $7.80 per hour, earning her gross pay of $528.84.

Conflicting time cards

The defendant was also working at Victorian Inn. Time card records from the hotel indicated she worked there during some of the same hours she was clocked in at the hospital, Edwards said.

The arrest warrant indicates prosecutors are looking at a time frame from March 19, 2001, to the date Edmundson was terminated -- more than two years later.

Her attorney, John Grimm, said he hasn't been presented with many investigation documents.

"I've not seen any documentation yet that backs up those types of figures," Grimm said of Swingle's $12,000 estimate. "I've known Julie for a number of years and she's a fine young lady. I hope we can come to some sort of agreement with the prosecutor in the case."

A preliminary hearing has been set for Nov. 3.