All tied up: nursing home abuse

All tied up: nursing home abuse

A nursing home aide tied an 83-year-old woman to her wheelchair with a bed sheet, shut the lights out, and napped. The certified aide napped for an hour while the woman was tied to the chair.

The 72-year-old aide pleaded guilty to violating public health law involving the abuse, neglect, and mistreatment of a person, which is a misdemeanor offense. The aide was required to surrender his certification and is not allowed to work in a nurse’s aide capacity for a year.
You have to wonder: How does an aide go into a common room, turn off the light, and nobody notices?

The restrained resident was incapable of walking or self-care without assistance. She asked for help a few times during the night and at 2:30 a.m. was tied, against her will. The nursing home’s video recorded the aide pushing the elderly resident down a hallway and into a lounge restrained with a bed sheet.

Bed sheets to restraint residents is highly discouraged due to a risk of suffocating and strangulation.

This is one of 10 actions against nursing home personnel in upstate New York. In Syracuse, another aide found guilty of punching a 77-year-old resident in the mouth and stomach. An aide in Utica slapped a 99-year-old resident in the face three times and once in the lower abdomen. Elsewhere two nursing home workers stole an 89-year-old resident’s diamond ring and pawned it for $15.