South Carolina Nursing Home Blog : South Carolina Nursing Home Lawyer & Attorney : Poliakoff & Associates Law Firm : Elderly Care, Senior Care

The Lexington Herald-Leader had an article about a Richmond nursing home facing allegations of abuse has been added to a list of nursing facilities requiring federal oversight.   The federal Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services added Richmond Health and Rehabilitation Center to its "Special Focus Facilities" list in April.

The Richmond Register reports the facility also known as Madison Manor is considered "Class A," meaning it is newly added and pending a standard survey by federal inspectors.  The "Special Focus Facilities" list highlights facilities that either have more problems than most nursing homes, more serious problems than most other homes or a pattern of serious problems over a long period of time, according to the department.

The Kentucky attorney general's office is investigating allegations of abuse at the facility after the family of the late Armeda Thomas, 84, hid a video camera in her room in September to document employees' behavior.   That recording led to criminal charges against several former employees of the facility. Former nurse's aide Jaclyn Dawn VanWinkle pleaded guilty last month to reckless abuse or neglect of an adult and received a probated 12-month jail sentence in exchange for assisting prosecutors with their case. She was seen on the video dancing in front of Thomas in her room.

Amanda Sallee of Richmond was charged with wanton abuse and neglect of an adult for allegedly eating Thomas' meals instead of offering them to her or offering to help feed her.

Valerie Lamb of Berea was charged with reckless abuse and neglect of an adult for allegedly lifting Thomas by her neck and lifting her legs higher than necessary when performing incontinent changes, her misdemeanor indictment says.

 

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David Krough wrote, for Portland's kgw.com, an article stating that a nurse assistant at a nursing home was arrested for stealing narcotics from residents in other nursing homes.  Nursing assistants provide about 85-90 percent of all the care to residents.

The article is informative but does not provide key information such as prior arrests, employment history, knowledge of the mangement of the nursing homes regarding the missing narcotics or her conduct.  How could she get hired?  Was she a user or a pusher?  What safeguards do they hav ein place to make sure this doesn't happen?  Below is a summary of the article.

Surveillance cameras caught a woman on camera, posing as a resident's granddaughter, then as an employee. Administrators there said the woman snuck in and spent at least three evenings with one of their residents.

Theresa Smith was a nursing assistant who worked at nursing homes in the Portland Metro area.  Police listed Smith as a person of interest after a report of theft of Fentanyl patches at the Laurelhurst Village Nursing Home on SW Stark Street.  She was accused of stealing Fentanyl pain patches from nursing home residents while the residents were wearing the patches. Detectives said she stole from several patients at area nursing homes.

Detectives arrested Smith Wednesday while she was working at the Care Center East Nursing Home on NE Wielder Street.  Smith was charged with burglary, criminal mistreatment, possession of a controlled substance and theft. Police said she may face more charges.
 

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KPTV.com has a video and story showing a nursing home worker stealing from the residents.   A worker at an assisted living center was arrested and charged with theft after she was caught on camera stealing from patients, police said.

Deputies arrested the woman at the Regency Park Assisted Living Center.   The Washington County Sheriff's Office received multiple reports of thefts going on at the center, so they set up a hidden camera to try and catch the thief.  Police set up a hidden camera and plant a purse with money in it in order to catch the thief.   Three days after setting up the camera, Quanecka Thompson, 23, was caught on camera going through the purse, pulling out the wallet, taking money, putting it in her pocket and leaving the room, police said.

Detectives said they set up the purse a second time, and again, Thompson was witnessed stealing money from it.   Deputies arrested Thompson last week.

I wonder if they did a background check on this nurse?

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Although there is a concern regarding privacy issues, many families use hidden video cameras to document neglect by nursing home employees.  These cameras are useful especially when the nursing home denies neglect or fails to supervise employees apporpriately.

I ran across an article that illustates my point perfectly.  An ex-employee of a Rochester nursing home admitted today that she neglected a patient in a case that included the use of a hidden camera.

Tammy Devos, 43, who was employed as a certified nurse’s aide at the Jennifer Matthew Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Rochester, NY pleaded guilty to the misdemeanors of second-degree falsifying business records and willful violation of health laws. 

She was sentenced to spend 16 weekends in county jail, beginning Sept. 1. As a condition of her plea, she agreed to surrender her nurse’s aide license.

She’s one of five former employees of the nursing home to face felony charges.
She was initially charged with first-degree falsifying business records, a felony.

Nine other former employees pleaded guilty to misdemeanors and received probation. The employees were charged after an investigation by the state Attorney General’s Office that involved putting a hidden camera in a patient’s room in the spring of 2005.

According to court documents, the 70-year-old patient, who suffered from dementia, was not turned regularly, was allowed to lie in his own waste, and was not given adequate food or hydration. False entries were made in the patient’s records to show that proper care was given.

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