Klamath Falls nurse pleads guilty to criminal mistreatment, elder abuse

By: Isabela Lund

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. -- A Klamath Falls nurse plead guilty to first-degree criminal mistreatment after neglecting three residents at Pacifica Senior Living in January 2022. 

According to a news release from the Oregon Department of Justice, the nurse -- Phyllis Dodds -- reached a plea deal that will require her to surrender her Oregon RN license, be placed on three years of supervised probation, perform 150 hours of community service and not work as a paid caregiver again. 

Oregon DOJ says Dodds failed to "provide nursing care" to three residents by not performing RN assessments and "[failing] to provide basic follow up medical treatment."

This includes one patient who died, the release said. 

"Dodds pled guilty to neglecting an elderly and vulnerable patient by failing to complete a critical nursing assessment, failing to communicate with staff on scene, and failing to properly document actions taken and results in January 2022," the release said. "The patient was found deceased in his bed the morning after these failures occurred." 

Oregon attorney general Ellen Rosenblum congratulated the Klamath County Sheriff's Office and Klamath County Adult Protective Services for pursuing the case. 

"Elder abuse in any form is unconscionable and reprehensible," Rosenblum said in the release. "When it rises to this level of criminal mistreatment, it is imperative that we hold offenders accountable."

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Klamath Falls nurse pleads guilty to criminal mistreatment, elder abuse