Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany is warning patients that their personal information might have been accessed by a former nurse accused of identity theft.

The hospital said Friday that some patient names, birth dates and Social Security numbers were available to former nurse Melody Milton between June 2005 and April 2012. Milton was charged in April with stealing the identities of people and filing more than $1 million worth of false tax returns.

She was fired from the hospital's home health division after the charges were filed in federal court.

Hospital officials have begun notifying patients by mail and offering a year of credit monitoring services to those affected.

A listed phone number for Milton could not be found.

Tags: identity theft, security breach, Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital, Melody Milton