LPN Arrested for Sexual Assaults

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The Dayton Daily News reported that Pristine Senior Living of Beavercreek sent a letter to their families informing them that their employee, Steven Douglas McDowell, a licensed practical nurse, is facing sex charges involving residents at the facility.  At least, three Pristine Senior Living residents have been identified as possible victims.

McDowell has also been indicted on 11 counts of illegal use of a minor in nudity oriented material, one count of voyeurism and three counts of gross sexual imposition, according to the prosecutor’s office.

DHEC Enforcement Action

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DHEC officials confirmed the agency is currently taking enforcement action against Brookdale Senior Living Facility in Charleston, where a resident died in July 2016 after wandering away and being killed by an alligator.

The action comes as a result of violations cited during a series of recent inspections and investigations, according to DHEC’s spokesman Robert Yannity.

According to DHEC’s website, when an agency takes enforcement action against a facility, administrative staff are called to attend a conference with DHEC officials to go over the violations and discuss corrective actions.

If DHEC and the violating facility come to terms, a mutually agreed upon “Consent Order” is issued outlining the actions which must be taken, and DHEC’s expectations.

 

New Mexico AG’s War on Abuse

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New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas is trying to stop elderly abuse in nursing homes.  KFOX TV reported that New Mexico’s attorney general is launching a new campaign to prevent elderly abuse in nursing homes.

He’s ordered the state to review documents and evidence of abuse that would lead to an investigation on any facility.

“We also look at whether or not they are being cared for appropriately, according to their care plan, and we also look at a variety of injuries and things of that nature,” said Richard Chavez, the AG’s special agent supervisor.

Once enough evidence is gathered, the attorney general’s office will try to prosecute offending homes.

Settlement in Choking Case

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National Law Review reported the settlement in a choking case where the staff ignored the doctor’s diet restriction order.  The elderly man who died was provided food that was not permitted in his diet program and was allowed to eat unsupervised, even though he was at high risk of choking. Antonio Mares died on November 9, 2012 when a nursing assistant was unable to properly perform the Heimlich maneuver while he was choking.

Center for Hispanic Elderly in Wicker Park has agreed to a settlement of $875,000 after nurses failed to follow doctors’ orders and a patient died.  Antonio Mares was prescribed a diet of mechanical-soft food by his doctor due to medical complications which increased his risk of choking. As he was at an elevated risk, he was also to only be fed while under the supervision of a nurse or nursing assistant. On November 9, 2012, both of these directives were ignored when a certified nursing assistant provided him with a tray of food that did not meet his dietary specifications and then proceeded to leave him to eat unsupervised.

Mares fought for his life after he began to choke, using the call button to desperately gain the attention of nursing staff members. Nobody responded to the calls and it wasn’t until the nursing assistant returned to the room that anyone was aware of the issue. The CNA proceeded to attempt the Heimlich maneuver, but did not perform it properly.

Patients that are considered high-risk for choking should also never be left to eat without supervision or assistance. Mares was not only provided the wrong food for his special needs, but he was then left to fend for himself until he began to choke.

Safety and Security

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The Seattle Times reported the sexual assault of a resident at SeaTac assisted-living facility.  Police are investigating the attack.  The assailant used an open window to get into her room.  According to the Fire Department, the woman suffered serious head injuries and showed signs of having been sexually assaulted, the release said. She was taken to the hospital.

 The woman told police she was alone in her room, watching TV with the window open, when she heard a noise and saw a man remove the window screen and climb inside, the Sheriff’s Office said.

He went to where the woman was sitting, hit her several times on the side of the head, wrapped his hands around her throat and choked her before sexually assaulting her, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

The man left through the window, the release said. Out of fear, the woman waited several minutes before screaming for help, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Deputies responded and a police dog used to help search for the assailant.  The man was described as black, 5 feet 8 inches tall, with a slender but strong build, wearing a black-and-white shirt, black pants and a black skull cap.

Sex Offenses Investigated

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Beavercreek police are investigating a sex offense at a nursing home.  On July 17, a case of gross sexual imposition and pandering obscenity involving a minor was reported to Beavercreek police.

WHIO reported that Pristine Senior Living in Beavercreek said they are conducting an internal investigation, and are cooperating with police in their investigation of sex offenses involving an employee.

CNA Assault Reported

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The Statesman reported the horrific allegations against a nursing home employee accused of beating a 90-year-old woman after she wet her bed in the facility in May.  Austin police investigated the incident on May 12 after a resident at the Gracy Woods 1 Nursing Center reported that a new employee had assaulted her during the night, the affidavit said.  The woman told investigators that the employee turned her over on her stomach and hit her on her back several times, according to the report.

Carly Vondra, a certified nurse’s assistant, faces a second-degree felony charge of injury to a disabled individual, according to an arrest affidavit.  Vondra was assigned tot he resident and was identified as the person who hit her after seeing photos a relative pulled from the internet, the affidavit said.

Maggots Found in Wound

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The Times News reported the lawsuit filed against White Oak Manor and White Oak Management for neglect of a wound after an amputation—larvae and maggots were growing in his body and he lost his remaining leg.

William Brooks was admitted to Burlington’s White Oak Manor on May 5, 2014, while recovering from an amputation below the right knee.  That July, after an infection sent him back to the hospital, Brooks had doctor’s orders for frequent cleaning and redressing a wound on his remaining foot. According to the suit, there was no record of that treatment being done in June or July of 2014.

A doctor was called in to evaluate Brooks when maggots were found in the wound on his left ankle. He was treated, but he ended having his left leg amputated below the knee.

The suit claims White Oak Manor and its staff were negligent in caring for Brooks, and he suffered physically, emotionally, financially and was disfigured because of it.

 

Left in Whirlpool Tub

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The St. Louis Post Dispatch reported the lawsuit filed after a resident was left in a tub for over 8 hours causing her wrongful death.  Steven Moreland alleges in the lawsuit that Lois Moreland’s March 2016 death was the result of negligence by the St. Sophia Health & Rehabilitation Center.

The lawsuit accuses St. Sophia of putting profits above health care by deliberately understaffing its 240-bed nursing home.

“When there are not enough staff members to care for residents, it creates an environment where employees are trying to do too many things that they forget about putting a resident in a bathtub and end up leaving her there for over eight hours,” Steven Moreland’s attorney, David Terry, told the newspaper.

Terry added that Lois Moreland was “unable to comprehend her circumstances or fend for herself because there were not enough employees to meet the needs of each resident. And as a result, Lois Moreland paid the price.”

 After Moreland’s death, government inspectors determined that St. Sophia residents were in immediate jeopardy — the most severe status given to nursing homes. St. Sophia was fined $39,260 and required to file a “plan of correction.”

Video Records Assault

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WSVN reported the release of a video showing a nursing home caregiver with assaulting a vulnerable resident.  The video shows the employee, Jie Xiao, hitting Karam 11 times; being punched repeatedly.

The family of 89-year-old Georges Karam released the video from Karam’s room at the Garry J. Armstrong long-term care center in Ottawa, Canada.  Relatives of Karam said he had previously suffered numerous, unexplained injuries. Nassrallah said the facility “never really gave us an answer” about the bruises and cuts they found on Karam’s body.

Karam’s grandson, Daniel Nassrallah, shared his reaction to the footage with InsideEdition.com, Wednesday. “It was gut-wrenching,” he said. “Literally, my legs collapsed.”

With the center’s permission, a baseball-sized camera was installed on the wall facing Karam’s bed in February, said Nassrallah. He said the staff was told about the device.

“He threw him around the bed,” said Nassrallah. “My grandfather started to flail and tried to bat him away. Then he started punching my grandfather in the head.”

Xiao pleaded guilty to one count of assault on June 27 and is free on bail pending his sentencing hearing, said Nasrallah.