Nursing Home Fires 4 Workers & 2 Administrators after Abuse
A highly rated nursing home facility in Salem, MA has lost 4 workers and two administrators after allegations of elder abuse against patients. State investigators found at least 12 incidents of abuse against patients at the nursing home including one elderly patient recorded on a cell phone camera being forced to answer questions despite her mental capacity being diminished due to dementia.
The 4 employees were accused of engaging in sexually explicit behavior or taunting patients about their health condition. The employees would provoke patients consistently until they became agitated and they would then use this as leverage to avoid having to care for the patients. The four employees were later fired from their job at the facility. The administrator in charge and the director of nursing were also released in connection with this incident. Seven other employees reportedly knew of the abuse incidents but never reported them to administrators or authorities. Beginning March 25th, the facility must now pay $3,000 per day as a fine until the violations were corrected.
This incident demonstrates one of many things to be on the lookout for when selecting a nursing home. The facility’s history of reports and complaints is very important in choosing a nursing home. In this incident, the reports of abuse should have been brought to the administration’s attention much earlier than it was and these incidents of abuse could easily have been prevented. Unfortunately, the victims in this incident had to face humiliating and abusive acts against them simply because the perpetrators were uncaring. A facility should never condone nor commit actions of an abusive nature against its residents. If the employees in this incident had been stopped in the first place, the victims would have received justice for their suffering much sooner.
