Articles Posted in Physical Abuse

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The family of an incapacitated woman impregnated by a nursing home worker is seeking $45 million in damages relating to the brutal assault of their child. According to the lawsuit, medical exams show the incapacitated nursing home resident had been raped repeatedly over the course of two decades. In addition to the long-running sexual assaults, it is likely the woman was impregnated by nursing home staffers before the crime made national news earlier this year at Hacienda Healthcare in Arizona.

According to her lawyer, staffers at the healthcare facility were shocked when a 29-year-old patient went into labor last December. The patient, whose name was not released by news organizations, has been severely incapacitated since almost drowning when she was three-years-old. The legal filing describes her medical issues as severely debilitating – “She cannot maintain sitting without assistance. She is unable to stand/walk… [She] does not make eye contact nor does she smile.” She needs assistance for routine daily activities such as showering, using the toilet, and dressing herself.

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Victims of nursing home abuse and industry stakeholders gathered in Washington this month for a Senate hearing on the nursing home industry. In addition to hearing testimony from the families of nursing home abuse, the federal legislators sounded the alarm over a looming fight over Medicaid funding. According to Skilled Nursing News, the Trump administration will propose its plans to convert Medicaid funding into a “block-grant model.”

According to proponents of the new model of funding, Medicaid spending has spiraled out-of-control and the federal health insurance scheme is no longer sustainable. Instead of continuing with the current open-ended model, the federal government will fund a predetermined amount each year for a state’s Medicaid program. The amount will likely depend on the number of Medicaid beneficiaries in the state, among other factors. The idea for overhauling Medicaid’s open-ended funding model into a block grant system has been favored by Republicans for a long time and finally reached a fever-pitch during the Affordable Care debate in 2017.

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New York State is proactively training nursing home staff how to be “better whistleblowers” whenever nursing home abuse or neglect is suspected. Describing the training as “the first of its kind” across the country, The Buffalo News said the New York Department of Health trained nursing home workers on submitting reports with important details, which include the “time and location of the alleged infractions” as well as any possible witnesses or other relevant information. The health department, which is responsible for overseeing nursing homes in New York, encouraged filing these “comprehensive complaints” in certain situations such as when the nursing home lacked adequate staffing, when important medical devices are malfunctioning, or anything else that puts the health and safety of nursing home patients in jeopardy.

Currently, anyone can file an anonymous report with the state health department. While staffers are obligated to report some instances of nursing home abuse under the state’s “mandatory reporter” laws, elder care advocates say this law is difficult to enforce. The state also prevents nursing homes from retaliating against any employee who files a report or cooperates with an investigation against the facility.

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The police have arrested a nurse who is reportedly responsible for sexually assaulting a nursing home resident who has been in a vegetative state since 1993. According to The New York Times, the nursing home resident and mother has been under the care of Hacienda HealthCare in Phoenix since 1993, when she was only four-years-old. The Arizona nursing home said it did not know the woman, who has not been identified by Phoenix police, was pregnant. Upon the birth of her child, police required all male staff members to provide DNA samples. The police then identified the father as 36-year-old Nathan Dorceus Sutherland and charged him for sexual assault and abuse of a vulnerable adult.

Speaking on behalf of the woman’s family, a representative described the woman as possessing “significant intellectual disabilities” and is only able to move her limbs, head, neck and respond to sound. The representative called for a full investigation into Hacienda HealthCare and the staff responsible for the woman’s care. State legislators have not wasted any time in responding to the horrific abuse that occurred at the nursing home. On January 30, the nursing home came under new ownership. Earlier in January, the two doctors responsible for the woman’s care and the CEO of the facility were removed from their positions.

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CMS is preparing to fine nursing home staff and volunteers for refusing to report elder abuse, the agency announced. While the federal agency has been able to fine nursing homes for failing to report abuse, a recent government report showed that crimes against the elderly are still commonplace in nursing homes across the country. The report chided CMS, or the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, for failing to protect America’s senior citizens and recommended aggressive action.

A federal law enacted in 2011 gives CMS the authority to fine individual staff and volunteers at nursing homes across the country, according to Modern Healthcare. The government agency said it will begin seeking civil monetary penalties (or CMPs) of up to $200,000 for staff and volunteers who fail to “report reasonable suspicion of crimes.” The proposed regulation would also protect “whistleblowers” by withdrawing all federal funds from any nursing homes who retaliate against them.

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Elder abuse is one of the most widespread and under-reported problems in the country. However, despite the prevalence of elder mistreatment, the federal government does not gather data or require reporting for the crime against America’s senior citizens. With the population of Americans over the age of 65 expected to double by 2050, elder care advocates are urging the federal government to stiffen enforcement and begin tracking elder abuse cases across the country.

Elder abuse encompasses a wide range of illegal behaviors, from sexual abuse and financial exploitation to outright neglect by family members, caretakers, or nursing homes. Unfortunately, the federal government has not provided states with a precise definition of what behaviors constitute “elder abuse” and therefore, the exact definition varies depending on the state. When the federal government attempted to gather data on the subject for the first time this year, federal bureaucrats described the data received from states as incomplete, according to USA Today.

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Authorities declared the death of an elderly man at a Brooklyn nursing home a homicide earlier this month. The police described a tragic fight between two nursing home patients that began over “a pair of pants.” A “tug of war” over a piece of clothing quickly turned into a violent brawl at Crown Heights Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation when the roommates began beating each other over the head. Staffers say they separated the residents and immediately called the police and an ambulance, however, the injuries were so severe that 74-year-old Eitel Vargas died. 

A statement released by the Brooklyn nursing home said, “This is obviously a tragic event in which one of our residents ultimately passed away, and we have extended our deepest sympathies to the family. The health, safety and well being of our residents continues to be our highest priority, and we are confident that our staff handled the matter in accordance with regulations and our standards.”  The murderous roommate is still living at the facility and has not been charged, according to The Daily News. Local authorities said the investigation is still ongoing and the Department of Health, the state agency responsible for overseeing New York’s nursing home industry, has also opened an investigation into the fatal fight. 

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The Attorney General for the State of New York charged 57-year-old Jerry Clarke, a Rochester Nurse, with abusing a nursing home resident. Clarke, who worked at Creekview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, has been charged with a felony count of endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person and a misdemeanor count of willful violation of health laws. Creekview says it released Clarke, whom it had employed for six years, upon learning of the pending investigation.

According to the indictment, Clarke wrestled and punched a 64-year-old patient at the nursing home multiple times. While violently assaulting the senior citizen, Clarke allegedly yelled, “I told you not to try me” along with several racial slurs. The attack occurred against a resident, whose name was withheld from all news accounts, was unable to take care of himself because of known mental and physical handicaps. According to the indictment, Clarke “smelled of alcohol and appeared to be high during the incident.”

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State investigators in Raleigh, North Carolina have captured several nurses cruelly abuse an elderly man at a retirement home on a hidden camera. The hidden camera was set up after an elderly man told his daughter that the orderlies had been “tormenting and neglecting him,” according to WRAL. In response to the incident, state investigators are investigating the nursing home.

According to the news station, the video shows Richard Johnson, 68 years old and recovering from a stroke, fall out of his bed. After crying out for help, several orderlies pass by and ignore the elderly man for over an hour. When staff members finally arrive they immediately begin berating and cruelly taunting the senior citizen, asking “What are you doing there? Why are you on the floor?” Another nurse joined in on bashing the vulnerable man, stating “You had to do something very wrong with your life. What did you do? You’re suffering so bad, so you’ve done something wrong. Yes, you did.”

According to Richard Johnson’s daughter, Johnson even went to the bathroom while on the floor waiting for help. This unfortunate incident prompted a third member of the nursing staff to scold him, saying “How old are you? One? You’re supposed to be enjoying your retirement. Instead, look what you are doing, pooping on yourself. Shame on you.”

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In the first study of its kind, a new report found that many nursing home residents experience violence from other residents while residents.  In America, 18 percent of staff at one residential facility reported aggression by residents as a daily occurrence. Further, 90 percent of the nursing home resident aggressors had a diagnosis of dementia. Because of the rules surrounding reporting nursing home abuse, the study found it is likely that much resident-to-resident violence goes unreported.

elderly-man-abused-300x169Dementia appears to be the largest cause of resident-to-resident violence in assisted living facilities. According to the Australian report, other risk factors that would make a nursing home resident more violent include being male and recent admission to a nursing home. However, of all these factors – dementia stands out, a diagnosis found in 90 percent of nursing home aggressors in Australia. Continue reading

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