Employee steals from resident
Greenville News reported the story of a nursing home employee arrested for stealing money from a nursing home resident. I wonder how many times employees have done this to incompetent and demented residents who can't speak up or no one will liten to or believe?
The victim is an 88-year-old woman who lives at Oakmont Nursing home in Union. She repeatedly noticed cash missing from her room. Only the woman and employees of the facility have keys to where she keeps her money. The woman said she recently left money in a bank envelope inside a purse that she put in a drawer while she was out her room. The next morning, she noticed $40 missing. The woman reported the incident to the supervisor, and then experimented by leaving two $5 bills in her purse in a drawer. Both bills ended up stolen during two different times when the woman was out of her room. Police arrested Brenda Rochester on two counts each of second-degree burglary and petit larceny after comparing the times of the thefts with the work schedules of those who had access to the room.
There are approximately 17,000 residents in 174 nursing homes in South Carolina. There are too few surveyors, ombudsman, and investigators to protect these residents from sexual predators, theiving nurses, and greedy corporate owners. Something needs to be done.
