Former Nurse Receives Two Years Probation for Punching Elderly Patient
A former Keiser Hospital Nurse in Redwood City, California has been sentenced to four days in county jail and two years probation after being accused of punching a 91-year-old patient in the mouth when she refused to take her medication. 59-year old Joan Rogers pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor elder abuse charge in connection with the October 2009 incident. The incident originally occurred when the elderly woman was taken to the hospital with a hip fracture.
The woman started fighting against Rogers when Rogers tried to give the woman medication through her IV. A second hospital employee witnessed the incident and tried to come to the woman’s aid when the woman was yelling at Rogers. Rogers punched the woman in the mouth and the woman suffered a laceration on her lip as a result. The hospital administrators contacted police and Rogers was subsequently sent to jail in April as a result of this incident.
There are many cases when an elderly person becomes combative against a nurse or other medical professionals when they feel threatened or when they simply refuse to cooperate. However, striking that person for not cooperating is the last thing that should be on any medical professional’s mind. Nobody should ever put their hands on a patient in a threatening or harmful way, especially when they are already suffering from some other ailment for which they require medical attention. When it comes to harming an elderly person, the person responsible should be held accountable for their actions and brought to justice for the incident.
